Are you planning a playlist to push to?
Sound is one of the earliest forms of communication between mother and baby. According to research by the Marques Institute in Barcelona, a foetus of 16 weeks is already capable of hearing and responding to music. The catch? It has to be emitted from a device placed in their mum’s vagina otherwise it’s just a muffled whisper…
Nonetheless, evidence has been knocking around for a while that babies who listen to music while still in utero reap the gestational benefits. A Finnish study, published in the journal PlosOne, showed that prenatal exposure to music resulted in more reactive brain activity that lasted for several months.
In addition to the benefits for bump, listening to music is also good for mamas-to-be. A study by the Max Planck Institute revealed that pregnant women’s bodies respond to music much more intensely than their non-pregnant counterparts, demonstrated in heart rate and blood pressure changes.
Based on years of research into the benefits of music on both mamas and babies, medics and scientists alike are becoming increasingly aware of the beneficial effects of music during childbirth. Although relaxing classical, new age, and nature sounds remain the most popular musical genres during pregnancy and birth, music streaming service Spotify has a birthing playlist that is “scientifically-designed” to help alleviate the anxiety of women who are in labour.
Spotify compiled the playlist in conjunction with a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, Jacques Moritz, who claims that 70 percent of his patients make one for the big day. The playlist, which has almost 10,000 followers, includes appropriate titles such as David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure, Pearl Jam’s Just Breathe, and Iron & Wine’s Naked As We Came.
Check out the track list for yourself and let us know if there’s any you’d add…
- Pearl Jam – Just Breathe
- James Bay – Let It Go
- Regina Spektor – Don’t Leave Me
- Sigur Rós – Festival
- Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
- The Lumineers – Ho Hey
- Norah Jones – Sunrise
- Craft Spells – After the Moment
- Xavier Rudd – Follow the Sun
- Lucinda Williams – Fruits of My Labour
- John Lennon – Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
- Colbie Caillat – Capri
- D’Angelo – Really Love
- Milton Nascimento – Nos Bailes Da Vida
- Coldplay – Don’t Panic
- Fleet Foxes – Your Protector
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
- Kygo (feat. Maty Noyes) – Stay
- P!nk – Try
- Muse – Starlight
- John Legend – All of Me – Tiesto’s Birthday Remix
- David Bowie, Queen – Under Pressure
- U2 – With or Without You
- Wilco – Impossible Germany
- Arcade Fire – Wake Up
- R.E.M. – Nightswimming
- Patty Griffin – Heavenly Day
- Iron & Wine – Naked As We Came
- Beyoncé – Blue
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Yo-Yo Ma – Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1
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