A Comparative Clinical Study of the Effect of Yoga, Music, and Yoga with Music on Anxiety During Pregnancy

Abstract

Purpose-stress, anxiety of mother can lead to adverse effects for the expectant mother and the unborn child. The present study investigates whether interventions like yoga,pranayama and classical music can improve anxiety,maternal as well as fetal well-being.
 Methods- A total of 201 pregnant women took part in this comparative clinical study Symptoms of anxiety were assessed by Hamilton anxiety scale
 and questionnaires before the intervention phase (from 18-20th weeks of pregnancy) and afterwards (up to labour). Additionally, immediate changes regarding experienced stress and mood from before until after the interventions were explored with questionnaires.
 Results- Regarding immediate effects, both interventions showed positive effects on the emotional state, symptoms of anxiety). Additionally, the singing group showed a larger reduction in cortisol and a larger improvement in valence than the music group. Looking at more prolonged effects, significant effects on general self-efficacy and perceived closeness to the unborn child were found.
 Conclusion -In the present study, promising effects of yoga with music and in particular depressive symptoms and on maternal well-being and perceived closeness during pregnancy appeared. Prenatal yoga and music interventions could be an easy to implement and effective addition to improve mood and well-being of the expectant mother and support mother-infant bonding.