The Effect of Relaxing Music on the Life Distress and Maternal-fetal Attachment of Pregnant Women

Background: Although pregnancy and motherhood are enjoyable experiences, they are associated with many physical and psychological changes requiring adaptation. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of relaxing music on the life distress and maternal-fetal attachment of pregnant women. Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study with   pre-test and post-test design and a control group. The research population included all Iranian pregnant women referring to Laleh Hospital in Tehran in 2020.  A total of 30 women were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned into intervention and control groups, each with 15 participants. The data were collected using the Life Distress Inventory (LDI) and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS). The subjects in the intervention group listened to relaxing music in 12 sessions each for 45-50 minutes in the morning and during routine midwifery visits, while those in the control group did not receive any intervention. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS software (version 22). Results: The results showed that the subjects in the intervention group have reported a lower level of life distress on the post-test compared to those in the control group (p = 0.0001, F = 15.860). The subjects in the intervention group also had a higher mean score on maternal-fetal attachment than the members of the control group (p = 0.0001, F = 35.872).   Conclusion: According to the findings reproductive health and nursing professionals and also psychologists could recommend   music as a complementary therapy   to reduce stress and distress experienced by mothers during pregnancy and to improve maternal-fetal attachment.