Music Interventions may Boost Maternal Stress Resilience and Benefit Offspring Development, reveals Systematic Review

The review, which analyzed various studies on the impact of music during pregnancy, found that these interventions generally have a positive effect on maternal stress resilience. Notably, the benefits were linked not to the specific type of music but to the frequency and emotional engagement of the musical performances.

Maternal mental health significantly impacts well-being and can indirectly influence the development of fetal brain structures, as well as the motor and cognitive skills of children into adulthood. Johanna Maul, Technische Universtität Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Maul), and colleagues sought to identify particular aspects of music interventions that enhance validated outcomes for maternal health.

From the start of data collection up to December 2023, randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews investigating music interventions during pregnancy were identified through MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Web of Science. Using Covidence, two reviewers screened studies for inclusion based on randomized controlled trials that featured at least three music interventions during pregnancy. The studies were required to report outcomes using measures such as the Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, or blood pressure.

To evaluate the quality of the included studies, the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2, the checklist to assess Trustworthiness in RAndomised Clinical Trials, and the reversed Cohen d were employed.

The researchers reported the following findings:

• From 251 detected records, 14 randomized controlled trials and 2375 pregnancies were included.
• Music interventions ranged from 3 to 84 sessions, either active or passive, with music chosen by the participants or preselected, and each session lasting between 10 and 60 minutes. Among the studies, 2 out of 4 reported a significant reduction in Perceived Stress Scale scores, 8 out of 9 showed a notable decrease in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores, and 3 out of 4 indicated a significant drop in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores.
• Blood pressure was significantly reduced in 3 of 4 randomized controlled trials.
• The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2 was “high” in 5 of 14 studies or “with concerns” in 9 of 14 studies.
• Stratifying the Cohen d across 14 intervention arms revealed a large effect on blood pressure for 234 out of 469 mothers and a large effect on maternal anxiety for 244 out of 489 mothers, with a medium effect observed for 284 out of 529 mothers also concerning maternal anxiety.
• Small or very small effects on blood pressure, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale were observed in 35 of 70, 136 of 277, and 374 of 784 mothers-to-be, respectively.

"The potential of music interventions to enhance postnatal development and skills in offspring warrants further investigation through follow-up studies. This research is crucial for breaking harmful epigenetic cycles, especially in the context of global pandemics, violent conflicts, and natural disasters," the researchers concluded.

Reframe:

Maul, J., Behnam, S., Wimberger, P., Henrich, W., & Arabin, B. (2024). Systematic review on music interventions during pregnancy in favor of the well-being of mothers and eventually their offspring. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, 6(8), 101400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajogmf.2024.101400