A scoping review examining how music listening can support intrapartum maternal well-being

Background: How might music listening support intrapartum well-being for mothers, when this period can be distressing for first time mothers? Moreover, what type of music listening resources are shown to support maternal intrapartum well-being? We have undertaken a scoping review to consolidate evidence-based knowledge on the role of music listening for maternal intrapartum well-being. Method: The PRISMA-ScR protocol was followed (Tricco et al., 2018). English language, peerreviewed publications between 2000 and 2023 about research specifically related to music listening were examined following a keyword search (music AND listen*, AND (spellings of) perinatal OR prenatal OR prenatal OR pregnan* OR labour OR birth OR antepartum OR intrapartum). Articles focused only on interventions other than music listening (e.g., music therapy, group lessons, and singing) and those focused only on fertility, contraception, or child outcomes were excluded. Results: Preliminary findings suggest that the impact of music listening can be grouped under three themes: while pregnant (e.g., reducing stress, anxiety and depression and improving sleep quality; while in labour (reducing mothers’ stress, anxiety, and fears, providing a distraction, reducing pain/medication), and regarding longer-term consequences (increasing maternal-infant bonding and self-efficacy, decreasing the risk of postanal depression). Conclusions: While there is varied reporting regarding the stimuli or resources used in these studies; consolidating the evidence-based music listening resources will result in an online resource centre for mothers. Doing so affords expectant mothers (especially those residing in rural and remote communities) access to low-cost, evidence-based resources, aimed at promoting their well-being pre-/post-natally