Bid to find out if lullabies calm mums-to-be

IN a world first, scientists in Limerick are turning the traditional lullaby on its head by trying to find out if singing them can soothe, not the babies, but pregnant women.

The Lullaby Research team at the University of Limerick is a collaboration between the School of Nursing & Midwifery, the Graduate Entry Medical School, the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance and the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

The study involved women recruited through the Limerick Regional Maternity antenatal education classes who were taught various well-known lullabies.

A spokesperson for UL said: “Pregnancy and birth can be difficult periods in a woman’s life and many women suffer from stress and worries around this time. Medical treatment is not always suitable, because of concerns that taking medication may harm the baby. For that reason, doctors and midwives are interested in finding other ways to reduce pregnancy stress, such as singing.”

The aim of this study is to look at the effect of different strategies in relieving stress in pregnancy.

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The calming effect of music may be attributable to the fact that the normal tempo of music falls somewhere between 60 and 80 beats per minute, when measured on the metronome. The average measure is approximately 72, which corresponds with the average adult human heartbeat.

There is also considerable evidence to suggest that listening to music and singing benefits both mother and infant.

The lullabies were taught by Kathleen Turner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Oscar Mascarenes, director of the BA Voice & Dance, Irish World Academy of Music & Dance.

Mr Mascarenes said: “This study was quite compelling for me for personal reasons. I remember my mother telling me that my father used to play the piano when she was expecting me and, incredibly enough, whenever I hear the pieces played by my father on the piano, I feel a strange connection to my origins.

“Some of the pieces I have never studied myself (from the notation), but, strangely enough once more, I am able to sing them/play them on the violin and piano with ease. I do believe that music has a powerful effect on the babies, which influences through their whole life.”

Deirdre Morrisey from Limerick, a participant in the study who recently gave birth to baby Bowker, said: “When I was giving birth there were two birch trees swaying in the wind right outside the window and I could hear the melody, Lovely Birch in the Meadow, in my head.

“This brought me to think about all the other women in the study who were giving birth and it helped me stay focused and calm. The songs have had a big effect. Bowker is now seven weeks old and my husband and I continue to use the lullabies when rocking him to sleep.”

Participants are asked to fill in a questionnaire that measures stress. They are then assigned to one of two groups and some are asked to learn to sing some lullabies. Six weeks after birth, the women will be asked to fill in the same questionnaire to see if there are any differences in their levels of stress. Analysis of the data is taking place and the findings will be presented soon.