The Effect of Music Recital on Labor Anxiety and Satisfaction: A Randomized Controlled Study

Music as a distraction is used in various areas of obstetrics and gynecology to reduce fear, pain and anxiety.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of music recital on labor anxiety and satisfaction.

The study was conducted in a hospital between June 12 and November 30, 2019. A total of 80 primiparous pregnant women aged 18-35 years (40 music and 40 control) participated in this randomized controlled study. Data were collected using 'Personal Information Form', 'Birth Follow-up Form', 'Visual Analog Scale', 'Oxford Worries about Labour Scale' and 'Birth Satisfaction Scale'. In the study, while routine care was given to all groups, in addition to the music group, music of their choice from Rehavi or Nihavend Maqam was played with MP3 player headphones for 30 min when their cervical openings were 4-5 cm and 6-7 cm, respectively.

The mean ages of the control and music groups were 23.67 ± 3.18 and 23.95 ± 3.32, respectively. Thirty-five percent of women are very anxious and 42.5% are very afraid of childbirth. Participants in the music group had lower Visual Analog Scale scores after listening to music and at the 1st and 2nd hours after delivery compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the study, the mean score of the Oxford Worries about Labour Scale was found to be (21.72 ± 3.76) in the control group and (31.42 ± 4.23) in the music group (p = 0.000); the mean score of the Birth Satisfaction Scale was (84.25 ± 11.83) in the control group and (116.72 ± 10.36) in the music group (p = 0.000) and a significant difference was found between the groups.

Lower birth anxiety and higher birth satisfaction were observed in the music group compared to the control group, and it is recommended that music should be included in routine nursing and midwifery care in the birth process.