Maternal Music Exposure During Pregnancy Influences Neonatal Behaviour
Condition: Normal Healthy Term Appropriate-for-date Newborn
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 4

Summary: 
      Auditory stimulation during pregnancy has been found to influence foetal behaviour with a
      potential of being carried forward to neonatal period. This study evaluated the effect of
      ante-natal music exposure to primigravida healthy mothers on the behaviour of their term
      appropriate-for-date newborns. This was a single centre, randomized, open-label controlled
      trial. Primigravida mothers aged 19-29 years, free of chronic medical diseases or significant
      deafness, with singleton pregnancy, with a gestation of 20 weeks or less were randomized to
      listen to a pre-recorded music cassette for approximately 1 hour/day in addition to standard
      ante-natal care (intervention arm) or standard care only (control arm). Peri-natal factors
      with adverse effect on neonatal behaviour were deemed as protocol violations. The infants
      born to mothers exposed to music during pregnancy performed significantly better on 5 of the
      7 BNBAS clusters. The maximal beneficial effect was seen with respect to orientation and
      habituation.

      Conclusion:

      Music exposure to mother during pregnancy significantly influences neonatal behaviour.
    

Detailed description: 
      Objective:

      Auditory stimulation during pregnancy has been found to influence foetal behaviour with a
      potential of being carried forward to neonatal period. This study evaluated the effect of
      ante-natal music exposure to primigravida healthy mothers on the behaviour of their term
      appropriate-for-date newborns assessed using Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
      (BNBAS).

      Methods:

      This was a single centre, randomized, open-label controlled trial. Primigravida mothers aged
      19-29 years, free of chronic medical diseases or significant deafness, with singleton
      pregnancy, with a gestation of 20 weeks or less were randomized to listen to a pre-recorded
      music cassette for approximately 1 hour/day in addition to standard ante-natal care
      (intervention arm) or standard care only (control arm). Peri-natal factors with adverse
      effect on neonatal behaviour were deemed as protocol violations. Outcome measure included
      scores on 7 clusters of BNBAS. Primary analysis was per protocol.

      Results:

      One hundred and 26 newborns in the music group and 134 in the control group were subjected to
      BNBAS assessment. The infants born to mothers exposed to music during pregnancy performed
      significantly better on 5 of the 7 BNBAS clusters. The maximal beneficial effect was seen
      with respect to orientation (ES 1.13, 95% CI 0.82-1.44, p<0.0001) and habituation (ES 1.05,
      95% CI 0.53-1.57, p=0.0001).

      Conclusion:

      Music exposure to mother during pregnancy significantly influences neonatal behaviour.
    

Intervention name(s): "Garbh Sanskar" audio cassette (Times Music Inc., Mumbai, India)
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Approximate playing time = 50 minutes. Mothers advised to listen to it once every day.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Music; Foetal learning; Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale