The effects of listening to music on breast milk production by mothers of premature newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit: A randomized controlled study

Objective: This study was a randomized controlled experiment to determine the effects of listening to music on breast milk production in Turkish mothers with premature newborns.Methods: The study consisted of two groups of randomly selected mothers (n = 20 each) of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of two university hospitals in Istanbul between November 2017 and November 2018. On the first day, all mothers were provided with training for milking with pumps. On the second through fourth days, mothers in the music group (MG) underwent two sessions of milking with music and a pump for 15 minutes at 11:00 and 16:00; the mothers in the control group underwent two sessions of milking without music. To evaluate stress levels, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered and salivary cortisol tests were taken on the first and final days of the study.Results: The mean age of participants was 28.5 +/- 5.3 years, the mean gestational week was 32.21 +/- 2.26, and the mean birth weight of the newborns was 1748 +/- 533.4 g. The state and total anxiety scores of the MG were statistically low (p < 0.05). There was no difference between the MG and control group in the amount of breast milk produced; however, the final test cortisol levels of the MG group were significantly lower compared with the pretest measurements (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Listening to music in the NICU while breastfeeding can help reduce stress levels in mothers to premature newborns and support breast milk production