Authors (including presenting author) :
Lam WK(1), Cheung KYC(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Postnatal Ward Service, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen Mary Hospital (2)Music For Life Hong Kong
Introduction :
There is 40 – 80% postpartum women suffered from postnatal blues and about 13 – 19% of them may develop postpartum depression (Hong Kong Department of Health, 2017). However postnatal intervention for psychological distress is lacking in Hong Kong midwifery practice. It is widely acknowledged that singing is an effective way for relaxation. Study suggested that postpartum women can reduce their maternal stress through singing lullaby (Persico et al., 2017). Breastfeeding is often perceived as a stressful task in the first few weeks of birth.
Objectives :
(1) To examine the effectiveness of singing intervention in reducing postnatal psychological distress; (2) To test whether singing tailored-lullaby can increase satisfaction of breastfeeding experience.
Methodology :
A total of 71 breastfeeding mothers (mean age = 32.00, SD = 3.86) were recruited within 48 hours of their childbirth. They were assigned into either tailored-lullaby maternal singing postnatal class (n = 37) or normal postnatal class (n = 34). The singing class involved singing pre-composed songs about breastfeeding and creating tailored-lullaby, whereas the normal class only provided breastfeeding related knowledge. Using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), participants’ perceived depression, anxiety, and stress levels were measured before the classes and two weeks after the class completion. Their satisfaction of breastfeeding experience was also measured two weeks after the classes.
Result & Outcome :
Independent t-tests showed non-significant differences between the two classes in terms of participants’ age, pre-class depression, anxiety, and stress levels (ps > 0.05). Repeated ANOVAs comparing the pre-test and post-test revealed significant main effect of time (F = 12.76, p < 0.001) and main effect of group (F =5.44, p = 0.02) on anxiety level only, but not on depression and stress levels. Significant interaction effects of time and group were found on levels of depression (F = 3.03, p = 0.09), anxiety (F = 11.29, p < 0.001), and stress (F = 7.41, p = 0.01). These results suggested that, compared to control group, tailored-lullaby singing significantly reduced psychological distress among postpartum breastfeeding mothers. Moreover, mothers in the singing class reported higher satisfaction on breastfeeding experience (mean difference = 1.70, p < 0.001). This study provides evidence for the efficacy of tailored-lullaby singing intervention among breastfeeding mothers.
