Singing and music can help ease the symptoms of postnatal depression

This is very interesting.

I once heard that a happy child is one who sings and I've often wondered what the correlation between music and joy is. Music is definitely a trigger for us neurologically and just the first few notes of a song can bring us back memories from any time or place and bring on all types of emotions. Recent research has found that music and singing can help improve our mental health and can even ease the symptoms of post natal depression. Research has found that mothers with moderate to severe symptoms of post natal depression who did group singing saw a significantly faster improvement in their symptoms than a control group. In recent years I've noticed a lot more music classes and choirs aimed at mums and tots and it's something I've always loved taking part in myself. I was part of my school and college choir so when I had my first child in 2012 one of the first things I signed us up for were parent and toddlers music classes at The Ark. Personally I did feel like it helped improve my mental health, not just in the musical aspect but also because it got me out of the house and socialising with other parents. Music and Motherhood found that after six weeks of weekly singing women who had experienced moderate post natal depression felt their symptoms decrease by 35 per cent. It also found that by week six approximately 67 per cent no longer felt any symptoms of post natal depression at all. Of course while this information is brilliant it is not a cure all when it comes to post natal depression especially for those suffering with severe symptoms. If you feel like you may be suffering from post natal depression contact your midwife or doctor for support and expert advice.