Peer-reviewed article
Effects of five-element music therapy plus water birth on labour pain relief and the labour process.
Huang L, Chen X, Shen W ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compares three childbirth methods—traditional childbirth, water birth, and water birth combined with five-element music therapy—among 314 women in a hospital setting. The combination of water birth and music therapy showed shorter labour duration, lower pain scores, less postpartum bleeding, and higher maternal satisfaction than traditional childbirth. Newborns in the music therapy and water birth group had higher Apgar scores. The findings suggest that offering diverse childbirth options can improve outcomes for both mothers and newborns.
Key points
- Water birth and water birth with music therapy reduced first-stage and overall labour duration compared to traditional childbirth
- Pain scores were significantly lower in the combined water birth and music therapy group
- Postpartum blood loss was significantly less in the water birth with music therapy group
- Neonatal Apgar scores were highest in the water birth with music therapy group
- Maternal satisfaction and psychological comfort were highest in the combined intervention group
Limitations
The study does not specify the country or region where it was conducted, making it difficult to assess generalisability to different healthcare contexts. The document does not provide information about potential confounding variables, participant demographics beyond sex, or long-term follow-up outcomes beyond the immediate postpartum period.
Abstract
Objectives This study aimed to compare the effects of traditional childbirth (TC), water birth (WB) and the combination of WB and five-element music therapy (FEMT) on maternal childbirth experiences and clinical outcomes. Material and methods A total of 314 women who delivered at our hospital between November 2022 to June 2023 were enrolled and divided into three groups: the TC group (n = 126), the WB group (n = 95) and the WB-FEMT group (n = 93), which included labour pain relief through FEMT and WB. Data were collected, compared and analysed, including labour duration, first-stage labour pain duration, postpartum blood loss, neonatal Apgar scores, scores on the Labour Agentry Scale (LAS) and scores on the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ2.0). Results The first-stage labour duration and overall labour duration were significantly shorter in the WB and WB-FEMT groups than in the TC group (p < 0.001, respectively). Pain scores in the WB-FEMT group were significantly lower than in the WB and TC groups, and postpartum blood loss was significantly less than that in the TC group (p = 0.007). The WB-FEMT group showed the highest neonatal Apgar score (p < 0.001). Moreover, maternal satisfaction with the childbirth experience in the WB-FEMT group was higher, with significantly better LAS and CEQ2.0 scores than in the TC group (p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions The study demonstrates that WB and WB-FEMT are superior to TC in labour duration, pain management and postpartum recovery. The WB-FEMT combination significantly enhanced maternal psychological comfort. Offering diverse childbirth options can better meet the physiological and psychological needs of mothers, ultimately promoting the health of both mothers and newborns.