Method in the music

Have you considered music as a natural pain relief method? It can be a pretty powerful tool.

Music has huge significance and power in our lives. You’ve certainly experienced goosebumps when the right song comes on at just the right moment. All cultures use music to mark the seasons of the year as well as for special occasions and milestone moments. There are songs and lullabies for babies, nursery rhymes and playground songs, music for weddings, birthdays and funerals. Whenever something important happens, we use music to make it special, to mark it out from ordinary daily life. Which day could be more significant than the one your baby is born?

ALTERNATIVE RELIEF

Many analgesics and anaesthetic agents are available during labour and delivery, but none are completely free from side effects for you and Baby.

That’s why you’re probably keen to seek out ways to ease the pain and discomfort of labour by using alternative, nonmedicated forms of pain relief.

We list some in the box on the right, but the one that seldom gets a mention is music. A few studies have suggested that music can help reduce your perception of labour pain and ease your distress. The use of music for distraction dates back to the sixth century BC. Music takes your attention away from negative stimuli towards pleasant feelings and helps to reduce pain, anxiety and stress.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Auditory stimuli suppress pain neurologically. Sound has a significant effect on the brain; it affects mood and concentration. For this reason, it can provide positive stimulation for your emotional experience during labour. For the last four decades, researchers have shown the positive and significant effects of music and pre-birth stimulation for mother and baby. This carries over into the labour scenario. Mothers who listen to soft music during labour reported experiencing a lot less pain compared to those who did not listen to music. It was noted that the use of music during caesarean delivery had a significant effect on lowering the mother’s level of anxiety and increasing her level of satisfaction. A psychological effect of music therapy is relaxation, which positively affects heart rate, respiratory rate and metabolism. Music has a therapeutic ability to lift you up and out of yourself. It decreases the release of stress hormones and stabilises vital signs. Listening to music can peak emotional levels to a point that it impacts hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, prolactin and adrenaline. Oxytocin, endorphins and prolactin are key players in the progression of labour and natural pain relief during labour.

It has been found that easy listening rather than rock music, or a patient’s own choice, works best to reduce the level of pain. If combined with imagery and visualisation, it enhances the mental component involved. Music accesses both the right and the left brain and is helpful in shutting out disturbing sounds.

THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF MUSIC

• Reduces anxiety

• Decreases blood pressure

• Decreases heart rate and respiration

• Decreases stress hormones

• Alters perception of pain

• Enhances relaxation response Music is a gift with powers to heal and calm us. Make an effort to recognise the relaxing and healing elements in the music you listen to. This is vital for labour. Your choice of music should help you to release your tension and stress, so that your body can function unimpeded, and labour can progress normally, quickly and easily. You can make up your own playlist for labour from music apps that are available to most mobile devices. Sites such as Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Shazam and SoundCloud are free (in most cases) and easy to use.