Effects of Live Music Therapy on Heart Rate Variability and Self-reported Stress and Anxiety Among Hospitalized Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal

Nordic Journal of Music Therapy

Year

2019

Volume

28

Issue

1

First Page

7

Last Page

26

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effects of live music therapy on heart rate variability (HRV) and self-reported stress and anxiety among hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies. A total of 102 women at an antenatal ward due to pregnancy-related complications participated in a randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to a music therapy group (N = 52) or control group (N = 50). The women in the music therapy group received live music therapy on three consecutive days, for half an hour at a time. The participants belonging to the control group were instructed to rest for equally long time periods. The physiologic stress of the participants was assessed using HRV measures. The participants also rated their perceived stress and anxiety. The physiologic stress of the participants was assessed using 12 HRV measures. The SD2 measure of HRV increased significantly more in the music therapy group than in the control group during the therapy sessions. Moreover, the low frequency (LF) HRV measure decreased during the three-day therapy period. The self-reported stress was not significantly altered after the intervention. For women with high initial self-reported anxiety in both groups, their anxiety was significantly reduced during the three-day period.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Anxiety; Heart Rate; Hospitalized Patients; Live Music Listening; Music Listening; Music Therapy; Pregnancy; Recreative Music Methods; Self-Report Measures; Stress; Vital Signs

Indexed Terms

Prenatal stress; prenatal anxiety; live music therapy; pregnancy complications; heart rate variability (HRV); Clinical trials; Heart rate; Stress; Statistical analysis; Comparative analysis; Anxiety

Study Type

Randomized Controlled; Trial; Quantitative Methods

Disciplines

Music Therapy

Document Type

Article

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