Every Sunday afternoon our Healing Music 101 class looks at a different aspect of healing with music. Today we talked about the tremendous benefits of music with preemies. These babies are so tiny that they actually can’t be touched very much. The harp music provides a sensory experience for the preemies and their caregivers that is gentle and nurturing and helps to stabilize their blood pressure and heart rate.

Beginning after Christmas, Healing Music Enterprises will begin a class for expectant mothers and other family members who want to learn more about music during pregnancy and the many benefit that are there for mother and unborn baby. If you’re interested in this class for yourself or a family member contact me ASAP as the list is already forming. Time will be decided once we have at least 6 people signed up!

When I go out to speak at conferences and associations and universities, I often tell this story of “The Miracle of a Brother’s Song.” It is such a powerful story and brings home all of the healing you can have just “for a song!” Don’t miss it!

My “Lullaby” CD has created quite a stir and is now being used literally around the world. If you’d like to know more or purchase it, go to http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/products/lullabies/lullabies.html. You’ll also receive the lyrics to all 22 lullabies!

Today we have an excellent post from a guest blogger, Carol Smith! I know you’re going to enjoy it!

Labor and Delivery: Can Music Make a Difference?
Not for nothing did William Congreve say that “music had charms to soothe the savage breast;” if you’ve ever seen a woman about to give birth, you’ll know that if anyone needs soothing, it is her. Labor pains can wrack your body and make you feel like you’re being put through a wringer; it’s something that’s hard to understand if you’ve not gone through it yourself. No matter how prepared you are with your Lamaze and natural breathing classes, there’s always the chance that you may lose control because of the pain. And when you’re in the throes of pain, how do you calm yourself? One answer that really works is – MUSIC. So how does music make a difference during labor and delivery?
• According to this article, scientists have proved that music has therapeutic properties. It eases labor pain and removes the depression that moms feel after giving birth.
• When you listen to your favorite songs or slow music, you take your mind off the labor pain and the impending delivery.
• Music also helps you drown out the other sounds that could grate on your nerves – like the traffic outside your room or the noise made by other patients and workers in a hospital.
• It helps create a setting where you are at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
• Music reduces stress and anxiety and boosts your chances of having a normal and safe delivery
• It reduces the need for epidurals and other pain medication which could potentially harm your baby as it raises your pain threshold. You’re able to bear much more pain without suffering the accompanying physical agony.
• Music helps you relax and breathe deeply from your abdomen.
• Songs which have inspirational lyrics help soothe your mood and prepare you for the impending birth of your child. Some songs encourage and motivate you through the pain with their uplifting lyrics and soothing tunes.
One man’s meat is another’s poison, so what works for your friends may not necessarily work for you. Before you go into labor, be prepared with a collection of your favorite songs, tunes and melodies that calm and relax you and put you in a good mood so that you can play it while you’re in labor and waiting to deliver. Music is much better, more effective, and definitely safer than drugs that are meant to mitigate your pain.

By-line:
This article is contributed by Carol Smith, who regularly writes on the topic of ultrasound tech school. She invites your questions, comments at her email address: smithcarol.311@rediffmail.com

Earlier this week I wrote an article about pregnancy and the fetal ear.  So many women want to know exactly when the unborn baby begins to hear.  There has been quite a bit of research and documentation and we now know definitively that by the beginning to the second trimester, the ear is beginning to funtion and baby can hear mother’s heartbeat and digestive sounds.  To read the entire article and many others that I’ve written, see http://bit.ly/ncjcj.  Thanks, as always, for all your support!  Please feel free to send you comments on any and all articles.  Thanks.

Current Research on Music Therapy during Pregnancy

Effects of music therapy on psychological health of women during pregnancy.

Chang MY, Chen CH, Huang KF.
National Tainan Institute of Nursing, Taiwan.
I think that most women know intuitively that listening certain kinds of music during pregnancy really calms them down, soothes and comforts them. And of course, it’s doubly powerful because when Mom calms down, baby calms down!
The following study just serves to further document what I’ve been saying for years now, “Music during pregnancy is a great way to calm yourself and your baby without ingesting potentially dangerous drugs and chemicals! Of course I highly recomment my own CD of “Lullabies for Mother – baby Bonding.” If you listen to this on a regular basis while you’re pregnant, the same tunes and melodies will calm and comfort baby after she’s born whether it’s played on CD or sung or hummed by mother. Baby loves HER mother’s voice, no matter what, because that’s the one she heard before birth!   

Click Here to BUY my LULLUBY CD.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music therapy on stress, anxiety and depression in Taiwanese pregnant women.
BACKGROUND: The value of music therapy is slowly being realized by nurses in various clinical areas, including obstetrics. Previous studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of psychological stress during pregnancy. Few studies have examined the effects of music therapy on reducing psychological stress during pregnancy.
DESIGN: A randomized experimental study design was developed and implemented.
METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-six pregnant women were randomly assigned to music therapy (n = 116) and control (n = 120) groups. The music therapy group received two weeks of music intervention. The control group received only general prenatal care. Psychological health was assessed using three self-report measures: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), State Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (S-STAI) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).
RESULTS: In a paired t-test, the music therapy group showed significant decrease in PSS, S-STAI and EPDS after two weeks. The control group only showed a significant decrease in PSS after two weeks. This decrease was not as substantial as in the experimental group. An ancova test with the pretest scores as the control revealed that the changes in PSS, S-STAI and EPDS after two weeks were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: This controlled trial provides preliminary evidence that two-week music therapy during pregnancy provides quantifiable psychological benefits.
RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings can be used to encourage pregnant women to use this cost-effective method of music in their daily life to reduce their stress, anxiety and depression. Further research is needed to test the long-term benefits.

What can the unborn baby hear?

Of all the questions I get, this is probably one of the top five. We know for sure that by the beginning of the second trimester, the growing infant’s ear is functional. In the beginning baby mainly hears the sounds of mother’s heartbeat and digestive sounds. But with each passing day, baby begins to hear outside sounds of talking, music, loud traffic and most anything else.

For that reason, it is very important to keep Mom’s sonic environment peaceful and quiet. Even unborn babies can be traumatized by lots of loud noises, screaming, shouting, loud rock music, etc. Be good to yourself and your baby during this precious time of life for both of you. If you feel like working, that’s fine, but just keep any loud noises or extreme agitation to a minimum!

Of course, playing soft music is always a good idea.  I have created a Lullaby CD that is highly recommended!

As always, please let me know your questions!

How early can the baby hear?

Of all the questions that I get, I think one of the top five is “how early can my baby hear outside the womb?” It’s hard to imagine, but for centuries people actually thought the baby was in a deep cocoon and that the ears began to function after birth! Of course we’ve known for well over a hundred years now that the baby does hear long before birth. Most embryologists will tell you that around the beginning of the 2nd month, many unborn babies ears begin to be functional and will be able to hear mother’s heartbeat, circulation, and digestive sounds! Some women have known that all along…those that are tuned in to their bodies and aware that often the baby will “wake up” or move vigorously when Mom talks loudly or is around a sudden noise.

That’s one reason that keeping the expectant Mom in a healthy sonic environment is so important. Try to avoid:

•arguing and loud, disagreeable conversations

•fireworks and explosions

•loud music of any kind whether rap, rock and roll or even classical

•sudden or persistant drilling, hammering or other such noises

What’s the best kind of sonic environment?

•calming soothing conversations or music

•singing and talking to baby, beginning in the second trimester

•happy and positive interactions in Mom’s day

•keep any conflict to a minimum

Of course there are babies born all the time into conflictual families, even in war zones, and they survive and even thrive! Humans are resilient creatures and can withstand unbelievable odds and hardships. But if you want to provide the optimal environment, follow as many of these suggestions as you can!

My suggestion for lullabies? Click HERE!

http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/products/lullabies/lullabies.html