Effects of soothing music on labor pain among Filipino mothers

Abstract

Background: Labor pain is the most undesirable and unpleasant aspect of labor experience during childbirth. In the Philippines, especially in government hospitals, they seldom receive pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management to reduce pain. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the effect of soothing music on the perception of pain during the latent phase of labor among laboring women in a government hospital.

Methodology: A quasi-experimental design with random assignment was utilized in this investigation. Fifty subjects were assigned into either music (n=25) or non-music group (n=25). Participants’ levels of pain were measured utilizing the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and the behavioral rating scale (BRS) for pain at two time period. The non-music group was provided with the usual standard routine of care while the music group was provided with the usual standard routine of care and was exposed music therapy for 30 minutes.

Results: Findings revealed that those in the music group had statistically significant reduction in reported pain levels compared to those in the non-music group [VAS (t=7.317, p<0.05) and BRS (t=8.128, p<0.050)].

Conclusion: The finding provides promising result that soothing music during the latent phase of labor provides pain reduction and can be used as part their routine when providing care for women during this stage.