Effect of Music Therapy on Serum Cortisol in Primigravida in Active Labour
Background: Unrelieved labour pain can result in exaggerated stress response and can have an adverse effect on the physiologic status of women. 'Medicinal music' is a growing area of research and is an effective intervention across many medical problems. This research is an effort to study the effects of music therapy on the stress experienced by the labouring women. Objective: To determine the effect of music therapy on serum cortisol in primigravida in active labour. Methods: In this study 100 primigravida women in active labour were randomly divided into music group (n=50) and control group (n=50) The women in the music group received 3 music therapy sessions starting early in the active phase of labour. Serum cortisol was estimated to measure the stress levels in the labouring women. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics Results: Student t test analyses showed that there was no significant difference between both the groups in serum cortisol at pre test [t=0.08, p 0.05] Whereas, the group differences after the music therapy sessions indicated that the music group had significant lower serum cortisol levels compared to the control group [t 7.46, p .05] Conclusion: Music therapy is effective in reducing stress levels in the women during active labour.