SynthesisBMC psychiatry2017
Music interventions to reduce stress and anxiety in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 42 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Lullaby Intervention on Anxiety and Prenatal Attachment in Women With High-risk Pregnancy: A Randomised Controlled Study
The Effect of Music on Anxiety Levels, Blood Pressure, Fetal Heart Rate and Maternal-Fetal Attachment in Pregnant Women With Gestational Hypertension
The Effect of Electro-fetal monıtorısıon Sound on Anxiety, paın and Postpartum
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Nonpharmacological Interventions on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression of Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Worldviews on evidence-based nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Technology-Based Music Interventions to Reduce Anxiety and Pain Among Patients Undergoing Surgery or Procedures: Systematic Review of the Literature.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Music-Based Interventions on Maternal and Fetal Parameters during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.Complementary medicine research · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of sound stimulations during pregnancy on fetal learning: a systematic review.BMC pediatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Integrative and complementary practices to control nausea and vomiting in pregnant women: a systematic review.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2022Pooled it
- Interventions among Pregnant Women in the Field of Music Therapy: A Systematic Review.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2021Pooled it
- Maternal Anxiety, Infant Stress, and the Role of Live-Performed Music Therapy during NICU Stay in The Netherlands.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- The effects of a music and singing intervention during pregnancy on maternal well-being and mother-infant bonding: a randomised, controlled study.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2021Trial
- Humming and Homeostasis: Insights from Infants, Mothers, Mantras and Caregiving.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Development and reporting of a specialised antenatal music therapy intervention using the MRC framework and TIDieR checklist.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Review
- A developmental framework of interpersonal neural synchrony.Developmental review : DR · 2025Article
- The role of music in perinatal mental health, with a psychoneuroimmunological perspective.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Music therapy for the treatment of anxiety: a systematic review with multilevel meta-analyses.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- The Prevalence and Students' Perception of the Use of Background Music During Cadaver Dissection in Sub-Saharan Africa.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- Music intervention during non-stress test and its effects on maternal anxiety, maternal vital signs and fetal parameters: A quasi-experimental study.European journal of midwifery · 2025Article
- Exploring shared and unique benefits of passive and active prenatal intervention protocols on maternal wellbeing and neonatal outcomes: a combined quali-quantitative approach.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- Integrating music and nature: a scoping review of research on interventions involving both music- and nature-based strategies for mental health and wellbeing.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Effect of Music Therapy on Anxiety in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Cureus · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStress and anxiety are common in pregnancy and shown to have adverse effects on maternal and infant health outcomes. The aim of this review and meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of music-based interventions in reducing levels of stress or anxiety among pregnant women.
methodsSix databases were searched using key terms relating to pregnancy, psychological stress, anxiety and music. Inclusion criteria were randomised controlled or quasi-experimental trials that assessed the effect of music during pregnancy and measured levels of psychological stress or anxiety as a primary or secondary outcome. Two authors independently assessed and extracted data. Quality assessment was performed using The Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias criteria. Meta-analyses were conducted to assess stress and anxiety reduction following a music-based intervention compared to a control group that received routine antenatal care.
resultsFive studies with 1261 women were included. Music interventions significantly reduced levels of maternal anxiety (Standardised Mean Difference (SMD): -0.21; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) -0.39, -0.03; p = 0.02). There was no significant effect on general stress (SMD: -0.08; 95% CI -0.25, 0.09; p = 0.35) or pregnancy-specific stress (SMD: -0.02; 95% CI -0.19, 0.15; p = 0.80). The methodological quality of included studies was moderate to weak, all studies having a high or unclear risk of bias in allocation concealment, blinding and selective outcome reporting.
conclusionsThere is evidence that music-based interventions may reduce anxiety in pregnancy; however, the methodological quality of the studies was moderate to weak. Additional research is warranted focusing on rigour of assessment, intensity of interventions delivered and methodological limitations.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.