Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth

Traditional childbirth preparation whether it be a hospital birth, birthing center, or a home birth has usually centered on breathing and relaxation techniques. The management of labor pain is through these natural techniques and other non medicated interventions such as hypnosis, touch and massage, hydrotherapy, acupuncture and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation. For women wanting pharmacological assistance, there are options like narcotic medications and epidurals.

Music therapy assisted childbirth provides another successful pain management technique through specific music programs that are customized to meet the needs of the mother, baby and family. The music program is based on the mother’s preferences, her biological responses and emotional/social needs at each transistional phase she is going through during pregnancy, birth, and post partum. This model of care creates the bio-psycho-social outcomes the music therapist is focusing on in meeting the mother, baby, family needs at the time of pregnancy and during the birth process.

Two main differences that one finds in music therapy assisted childbirth are:

1. The music therapist emphasizes the importance of relationship — with partner, with baby, with Doula role. Music is utilized to help a mother emotionally connect with baby and partner while learning to trust her own physical responses to the birth process.
2. The music therapist can program specified music to help with pain management and “music entrainment.” This is done through specific practice techniques and monitoring a mother’s emotional and physical responses to these music interventions. Music entrainment is a technique that works on conditioning muscles to relax, and to breathe in a synchronous manner with the chosen music. This in turn helps break the pain, tension, fear cycle associated with labor pain.

Therapeutic Uses of Music During Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond

The music therapy research has proven birth outcomes can be greatly enhanced through the use of music for pain management. It also helps one maintain a positive emotional outlook for the following reasons:

1. Biological — Music changes biology by supporting a laboring mother to regulate breathing, lower blood pressure and respiration, and to block the pain response.
2. Psychological — Music enhances the ability to use coping skills and childbirth techniques during labor.
3. Environmental — Music blocks out extraneous sound in the birth environment. Music provides a “sound blanket” which fills the space and wraps the mother in sounds of comfort and safety.
4. Sociological — Music evokes social support from others and holds the birthing team together.
5. Emotional — Music is used to match or affirm moods and feelings the laboring mother is experiencing and it is used also to help change her mood.
6. Developmental — Music supports the process of becoming a mother and helps work through a mother’s fears, to relax and let the process happen.
7. Spiritual — Music can enhance and support the spiritual process of the laboring mother and may evoke a peak or transpersonal experienience.

These seven foundations were identified and clarified by Mary DiCamillo, Ed.D., MT-BC and are part of the Sound Birthing Program model of care.