The effect of music therapy on labor pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Music therapy is a non-pharmacological method for pain reduction. Our aim was to investigate the effect of music therapy on labor pain. Methods: This review study was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The ISI, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, Pub Med, Scopus, and Science Direct databases were independently searched by two of the researchers to find related articles about music therapy and labor pain. The search was performed using the Mesh keywords of “music therapy”, “labor pain” and the phrase of “non-pharmacological methods for pain reduction” to recruit articles published between 2000 and 2018. Data was analyzed using meta-analysis and STATA software. The Q and I2 were used to assess the heterogeneity. Result: A total of 40 articles were found from which 8 articles with good qualities entered the systematic review process. The mean pain scores in the experimental group were 8.67 (95 CI: 8.22–9.12) and 5.26 (95 CI: 4.98–5.54) before and after music therapy respectively. These results showed that music therapy reduced the pain by 3.41 times. The mean pain scores in the control group were8.05 (95 CI: 7.33–8.87) and 8.28 (95 CI: 7.49–8.97) before and after the intervention respectively showing a pain increment by 0.18. Based on the visual analog scale, labor pain was mild (i.e., score 2–4), moderate (i.e., score 5–7), and severe (i.e., score 8–10) in 24.8, 36.5, and 23.5 of the studied women. Meta-regression results showed a reduction in pain score by increasing the year of study and sample size. Conclusion: Music therapy can be considered as a non-pharmacological approach to reduce labor pain and improve the quality of maternity care. It is suggested that music therapy to be included in the protocols of maternity cares to increase their quality and efficiency. © 2023 Elsevier Masson SA