The Effects of Music on Fear of Childbirth and Outcome of Delivery (MUUSA)

Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH)

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Fear of Childbirth

Treatments: Behavioral: Music

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01687907

18/2.9.2009, 178/13/03/03/2009

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this trial is to find out if active music listening during pregnancy and delivery reliefs fear of childbirth, pain in delivery, need for analgesia during delivery and if there is an effect on delivery complications. Also we try to find out if there is any influence on mother-baby relationship.

Full description

In Finland fear of childbirth is one of the common reasons for consultation of obstetrician and mother´s demand on elective caesarean section. Approximately 5-8% of pregnant women suffer from severe fear of childbirth, which disturbs their family-life and working and prevents normal preparation to childbirth and parenthood.

Listening or playing music is very common in all cultures. Even fetuses are able to hear and recognize music and babies are interested in voices and sounds of music.

Music therapy has been used in other purposes widely. It is known that music stimulates the synthesis of dopamine in brain and it has been shown that music has an influence on hypertensive rats, lowering their blood pressure. In human beings there has been pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain. It has also been shown that music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke.

A strong attachment between mother and infant is essential to child's normal developement. Mothers who suffer from very strong fear of childbirth often have difficulties in mother-infant relationship and pronounced risk of puerperal depression.

Many features in listening and playing music have something to do in bonding together in societies. Lullabies are good example of communication between parent and infant.

There has been some trials about music therapy and pregnancy but not systematic randomized trials about listening to music and its influence on pain experience, length of delivery or complications of delivery. Music has a relaxing influence on human beings and we assume that it has a positive influence on pregnant women also.

We try to find out if active listening to music has any influence on physical and mental wellbeing of pregnant women or is there any influence on fear of childbirth, outcome of delivery or mother-baby relationship.

Pregnant women referred to the outpatient clinic because of fear of childbirth have also normal appointments with obstetrician and/or midwife as needed and participating this trial has no influence on those appointments.

Enrollment: 800 estimated patients

Sex: Female

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• fear of childbirth in arms 1 and 2,
• nulliparous in arms 3 and 4

Exclusion criteria

• not able to answer the questionnaires

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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800 participants in 4 patient groups

Fear of childbirth, music

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients referred to the motherhood out-patient clinic because of fear of childbirth. Advised to active music listening. Followed up by weekly and monthly diaries and three questionnaires (when recruiting, just after the delivery and 6 months after the delivery).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Music

Fear of childbirth, control

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients referred to the motherhood out-patient clinic because of fear of childbirth. No intervention. Followed up by three questionnaires (when recruiting, just after the delivery and 6 months after the delivery).

Nulliparous, music

Active Comparator group

Description:

300 nulliparous women recruited from the ultrasound screening. Advised to active music listening. Three questionnaires like the other arms, weekly and monthly diaries like the other music group. Screening questionnaires about fear of childbirth.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Music

Nulliparous, control

No Intervention group

Description:

300 nulliparous women recruited from ultrasound screening. No intervention. 3 Questionnaires as all the other groups. Screening questionnaire about fear of childbirth.