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Updated: Mar 17, 2026
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
[Effect of Music Intervention on Maternal Anxiety and Fetal Heart Rate Pattern During Non-Stress Test]
Myung Ok Oh1, Young Jeoum Kim2, Cho Hee Baek1
1Department of Nursing, Korea University Medical Center Anam Hospital., Seoul, Korea.
Purpose:
The purpose of this cross-over experimental study was to examine effects of music intervention on maternal anxiety, fetal heart rate pattern and testing time during non-stress tests (NST) for antenatal fetal assessment.
Methods:
Sixty pregnant women within 28 to 40 gestational weeks were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=30) or control group (n=30). Music intervention was provided to pregnant women in the experimental group during NST. Degree of maternal anxiety and fetal heart rate pattern were our primary outcomes. State-trait anxiety inventory, blood pressure, pulse rate, and changes in peripheral skin temperature were assessed to determine the degree of maternal anxiety. Baseline fetal heart rate, frequency of acceleration in fetal heart rate, fetal movement test and testing time for reactive NST were assessed to measure the fetal heart rate pattern.
Results:
The experimental group showed significantly lower scores in state anxiety than the control group. There were no significant differences in systolic blood pressure and pulse rate between the two groups. Baseline fetal heart rate was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group. Frequency of acceleration in fetal heart rate was significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. There were no significant differences in fetal movement and testing time for reactive NST between the two groups.
Conclusion:
Present results suggest that music intervention could be an effective nursing intervention for alel viating anxiety during non-stress test.
