Research shows singing with your baby is good for mums and bubs

New research has confirmed that participating in a singing group for mums and bubs benefits both and provides an opportunity to make the important connection between mother and baby.

24 Feb 2017

24 February 2017

The findings follow a three month pilot group program, ‘Singing with your baby’, that was run in St John of God Burwood Hospital’s Mother and Baby Unit by St John of God Health Care’s arts in health partner, Musica Viva.

Sydney-based musician and singer Dr Gemma Turner facilitated the one-hour sessions with Jamilie Taouk from the clinical team. The sessions included humming to warm up the voice, followed by shared singing of known and new songs.

Perinatal & Women’s Mental Health Unit Senior Research Associate, Dr Nicole Reilly said it was the first time research had addressed the feasibility and benefits of singing in the context of a specialist inpatient mother and baby unit.

St John of God Burwood’s Mother and Baby Unit specialises in caring for mothers who are experiencing perinatal depression, anxiety and other related conditions.

“The value of music and singing is intuitively appealing yet it was heartening to see the mums report improvements in their mood even after just one, one hour session,” Nicole said.

“Some mums were worried about going into a group singing session, and some were a bit uncomfortable to begin with but even these mums ended up enjoying it.

“What other research and this evaluation has shown is that singing can be fun, relaxing and can bring cultural richness into your life and it is known to be good for health,” Nicole said.

“Also babies love being sung to!”

Overall, the evaluation found that the mothers felt comfortable participating and that they enjoyed the experience. They said they felt more relaxed, more cheerful and more clear-headed than they did before the session began.

There were positive and significant improvements in the quick mood scale and visual faces scale, which are recognised measures of mental health improvement.

The mums involved also said they’d be more likely to continue to use music or song to play with and soothe their baby or to help them to relax.

The singing program at St John of God Burwood Hospital has continued as ‘Singing for Mother and Baby Health’.