Effects of Music Therapy on Psychological Health of Women During Pregnancy

It is believed that listening to music can help reduce stress.  Chang’s article, “Effects of music therapy on psychological health of women during pregnancy” tests the theory of music therapy on pregnant Taiwanese women, all in their second or third trimester of pregnancy, to see if the theory holds.  Mei-Yueh Chang, Chung-Hey Chen, and Kuo-Feng Huang conducted an experiment to test this theory by getting the consent of 121 pregnant women to be split into two groups. 

To avoid between-group contamination, the number of participants per group was chosen by block randomization. This was executed by giving each person a ball either marked “E” for experimental group of “C” for control group.  Group one, or the experimental group, listened daily to 30 minutes of classical music, nature sounds, a lullaby, or crystal music performing Chinese children’s rhymes and songs.  The participants also wrote in a journal where they described what type of song they listened to and what they were doing.  Group two, the control group, just received the general prenatal care.  Chang states that “The aesthetic pleasure received by the right brain [that can be received by listening to music] can release endorphins from the pituitary gland, thereby decreasing the concentration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone in the blood” (Chang 25810). 

To test the results of this experiment, the participant’s PSS scores were collected along with their S-STAI scores and EPDS scores, or in other words the Perceived Stress Scale, State Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and depression.  In all three tests, women in the experimental group generally had lower scores than the control group.  Music Therapy is an effective alternative to lessen the amount of pain, decrease psychological stress, and mental distress caused by pregnancy for people who feel uncomfortable taking medication or for any other reason.  Another side study was also conducted involving thirteen women who listened to music while in labor and delivery compared with seven women who gave birth without listening to music. The thirteen women who listened to music all reported significantly lower levels of anxiety, pain, and discomfort. 

          This study also has several limitations that are listed as such.  To avoid the Hawthorne effect, the control group did not maintain a diary.  “Therefore, comparisons of the amount of time and type of music listened to were limited (2586).”  A second limitation was that whatever the participants were doing while listening to music could have influenced their mood and emotions.  The main limitation in the study is the factor that while doing whatever task they were working on while listening to the music, there is the possibility that the participants may have sit down or rested while listening to music resulting in a more relaxed feeling.  It is concluded that to draw a more firm conclusion, more control is needed.  The presence of these limitations show that this article is not bias argument because it gives both the positives of the experiment, and the faults that could have been changed to make it a more precise collection of data.

          The ending results overall of this experiment supported the use of music therapy.   Listening just for thirty minutes a day made the women feel less stressed, lower levels of anxiety, and also lower levels of depression.  Music greatly influences how people feel and what different emotions they experience.  This study is a great support of that theory and also how music can not only make you feel happier for a moment, but help turn that temporary happiness into long-term happiness.

WORKS CITED

1.)   Chang, Mei-Yueh, Chung-Hey Chen, and Kuo-Feng Huang. "Effects of Music Therapy on Psyhcological Health of Women During Pregnancy." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fff4cf00-cb70-4477-bf7b-555d1a993f09@sessionmgr4>