The expression of music throughout the lives of expectant parents

Abstract

Music can promote emotion regulation in individuals exposed to trauma and stress and may support positive parenting behaviors. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the use of music in the lives of a sample of expectant mothers and fathers (N = 102), who were considered at risk for insensitive parenting due to exposure to environmental and psychosocial stressors. Interviews probed childhood memories of music, current engagement with music, and parental plans to share music with their infants after birth. Using principles of grounded theory, a thematic coding process was employed. Findings highlight the relationship-salient and culturally embedded nature of music in the lives of these parents. Parents described the intergenerational transmission of musical family traditions. They recalled memories of music, which were linked in important ways to the central caregivers in their own early lives and described their intentions to use music in similar ways when caring for their own children. Parents also described the fundamental integration of music within their communities and culture. Findings suggest that promoting parental use of music to soothe and care for their children may be one cost-effective intervention technique that supports feelings of parental competence and parent–infant connection.

The use of lullaby to support social and emotional wellness among parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Our findings are consistent with prior research that has demonstrated that music interventions in group formats (Perkins et al, 2016; Shakespeare & Whieldon, 2018) and with lullaby focus (Carolan et al, 2012; Wolf, 2017a, 2017b) offer social and emotional benefits, such as enhancing parent–child connection (Mehr et al, 2016; Wulff et al, 2020) and parental mental wellness (Carolan et al, 2012; Dayton et al, 2017). This study extended this evidence base by investigating a novel remote administration of a music intervention.…”

“…Thompson (2018) explored the impact of music therapy on families with young children on the autism spectrum, and qualitative results suggested a positive effect of music on the social relationship between the mother and the child. In another study, parents were interviewed about their use of music around their children, providing qualitative support for a positive impact of music on parent-child connection (Dayton et al, 2017).…”

Sex Differences in the Social Ecology of Breastfeeding: A Mixed Methods Analysis of the Breastfeeding Views of Expectant Mothers and Fathers in the Us Exposed to Adversity

“…Parents in this sample experienced relatively high rates of exposure to poverty and community and interpersonal violence and suffered from relatively high rates of symptoms of mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder; see Dayton et al (2017) for a detailed description of violence exposure and psychiatric symptom rates for the sample).…”