Maternal Music Exposure During Pregnancy Influences Neonatal Behaviour

Auditory stimulation during pregnancy has been found to influence foetal behaviour with a potential of being carried forward to neonatal period. This study evaluated the effect of ante-natal music exposure to primigravida healthy mothers on the behaviour of their term appropriate-for-date newborns. This was a single centre, randomized, open-label controlled trial. Primigravida mothers aged 19-29 years, free of chronic medical diseases or significant deafness, with singleton pregnancy, with a gestation of 20 weeks or less were randomized to listen to a pre-recorded music cassette for approximately 1 hour/day in addition to standard ante-natal care (intervention arm) or standard care only (control arm). Peri-natal factors with adverse effect on neonatal behaviour were deemed as protocol violations. The infants born to mothers exposed to music during pregnancy performed significantly better on 5 of the 7 BNBAS clusters. The maximal beneficial effect was seen with respect to orientation and habituation. Conclusion: Music exposure to mother during pregnancy significantly influences neonatal behaviour.