The Effect of Music on Maternal Stress and Milk Amount

Premature babies who have to deal with life-threatening situations have to spend the first days of their lives in intensive care units. Mothers who plan to return home with their babies during the postpartum period may experience stress due to their children being monitored in intensive care. It is stated that mothers of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit experience stress and anxiety due to reasons such as being separated from their babies, the baby's illness, the baby's sensitive body structure, the baby's appearance and behavior, and the baby's dependence on devices. This stress experienced by mothers of premature babies can prevent mothers from providing enough milk to feed their babies. Mothers whose babies are in the neonatal intensive care unit cannot have adequate contact with their babies and cannot breastfeed; It causes insomnia, stress and anxiety, and the hormonal axis is disrupted, negatively affecting the amount of breast milk. In order to support the healing process of preterm babies, it is important to increase the amount of milk produced by mothers and increase the rate at which babies can receive breast milk. Music improves endothelial function by dilating the vessels; It has been reported that it reduces mental stress by increasing the release of nitrite oxide and endorphins and causes many physiological reactions such as a decrease in blood pressure and pulse. This study will examine the effect of music played to mothers with premature babies on maternal anxiety and the amount of breast milk.