Listening to music during pregnancy has been thought to decrease the stress hormones in the pregnant women. Reduction of stress hormones in the other can indirectly help in the well being of the baby in utero. The baby listens to the voice of his/her mother throughout the perinatal period and into its postnatal period. The voice is thus associated with familiarity and a secure feeling for the child. The mother’s voice has been proven to have an impact on the developing brain. At birth, newborns react to musical rhythms of speech and begin to orient themselves to the world around them. It is even said that this relationship is essentially ‘musical’ because babies do not yet understand the meaning of words. By listening to the mother through the perinatal period the fetus stores her musical speech and features. Ans so, right after the birth of the baby, In many cultures, lullabies have been sung for centuries to soothe babies. Lullabies can be a great way of calming a crying baby.
BENEFITS OF MUSIC ON THE UNBORN AND THE MOTHER:
Music has been seen to reduce high-stress levels that many pregnant women experience during their pregnancy. A study of 236 pregnant women conducted by researchers at the College of Nursing at Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan, showed that the participants who listened to music for 30 minutes per day for two weeks significantly reduced their stress, anxiety, and depression when compared with participants who did not. This study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, was conducted on participants who were all in either their second or third trimesters. Half of the participants were given music CDs and asked
to listen to them for a half an hour per day. The choice of the music was left to the participants and most of them chose nature sounds or lullabies. The other half were not given any CDs. Both groups received equal routine prenatal care. The research showed that women in the music group saw a significant drop in stress, anxiety, and depression scores, while those in the control group had a minor drop in stress.
Pregnancy is a unique and stressful period for many expectant mothers and they suffer anxiety and depression because of the long time period involved. Music can provide an excellent way for the mother to bond with her unborn child.
While both music and singing can be used to strengthen the bond with the child, women have a profound need to sing to their babies. Singing to the unborn child is extremely beneficial since the singing voice has a richer frequency range than speech. A mother’s voice is heard by the fetus much better than any other external voice.
So in conclusion, Listening to music can be beneficial and soothing to the baby. Of course, it depends on the kind of music. It is always better to go with music which is softer on the ears, and melodious rather than rap or hard rock. Let the volume be at a desirable level not very loud. Listen to your choice as long as you feel good and happy - Trust me, your little one will be too.
Reference
https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20081008/music-reduces-pregnancy-stress
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