The Lullaby Project: A Musical Intervention for Pregnant Women

Area of Science:

• Perinatal mental health
• Maternal-fetal medicine
• Psychosomatic medicine

Background:

• Maternal mental health and fetal attachment are crucial during pregnancy.
• Musical interventions are explored for their potential benefits in perinatal care.
• Existing research on music's impact on maternal well-being is growing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of a lullaby intervention on maternal/fetal attachment.
• To assess the intervention's impact on psychiatric symptoms and perceived stress.
• To evaluate the feasibility of such an intervention in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 44 pregnant women across two centers.
• Random assignment to either a lullaby intervention group or a control group.
• Utilized the Maternal Fetal Attachment Scale, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Symptom Checklist (SCL-27) at baseline and follow-up.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in maternal/fetal attachment were observed between the intervention and control groups.
• While within-group changes were noted, no significant differences in the change of psychiatric symptoms (SCL-27) or perceived stress (PSS) from baseline were found.
• The lullaby intervention showed no statistically significant association with maternal/fetal attachment, mental health, or perceived stress.

Conclusions:

• The tested lullaby intervention did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect on maternal/fetal attachment, psychiatric symptoms, or perceived stress in this pilot study.
• Findings suggest that this specific musical intervention may not be sufficient to alter these outcomes.
• Larger sample sizes and exploration of different or more intensive interventions are recommended for future research.