Maternal engagement with music up to nine months post-birth: Findings from a cross-sectional study in England

Abstract

There is significant evidence of the benefits of music for babies and emerging evidence that music may also benefit mothers' wellbeing. However, there is a lack of current large-scale data documenting maternal engagement with music in England. This cross-sectional survey study used descriptive and inferential statistics to examine how 473 mothers living in England engaged with music between 1-9 months post-birth, and regression models to examine demographic and musical predictors of this engagement. Findings indicate that the most frequently reported musical activities were daily listening to music (71%) and daily singing to babies (59%). Patterns of musical engagement differ by infant age, with mothers of 4-9 month old babies reporting more frequent singing and music class attendance compared with mothers of 1-3 month old babies. Mothers with previous or recent experience of music were more likely to engage in other musical activities, but musical engagement did not appear to be explained by socioeconomic factors including years in education, marital status or household income. Findings could support practitioners in designing music activities for mothers, in particular highlighting the need for supporting mothers with very young infants, with little or no previous musical experience or with more than one child.

Does attending community music interventions lead to changes in wider musical behaviours? The effect of mother–infant singing classes on musical behaviours amongst mothers with symptoms of postnatal depression

“…Regarding other musical behaviours, we had 3 specific measures: how often women listened to music (rarely, a couple of times a week, daily <1hr, daily 1–2hrs, daily 3–5hrs, daily 5+hrs), whether they had attended a concert in the past month, and how much their partner (if applicable) sang to the infant (4-point scale: not at all, a bit, quite a lot, very much ). These measures on wider musical behaviours were based on the questions asked as part of the previous study on musical engagement in mothers with young infants involving a separate sample of women (Fancourt & Perkins, 2017a). However, we chose to omit questions on how often mothers made music (such as playing an instrument) due to the very low levels of such engagement reported in the previous study.…”

“…In order to provide some more empirical data, this article focuses on a specific population: mothers with young infants. Previous research has provided insight into the musical activities that mothers engage with; for example, a recent study showed that 59% of mothers in the first 9 months post-birth sing to their babies on a daily basis, and 71% listen to music on a daily basis, but only 22% of mothers attend regular music classes with their babies (Fancourt & Perkins, 2017a). This research has also suggested specific musical predictors of musical behaviours in mothers.…”

Rhythm and melody as social signals for infants

“…9 These ritualized performances become an important part of caregiver-infant interactions. According to parental report, routine singing to infants increases parents' well-being, self-esteem, and reciprocal parent-infant bonding, 10 while also soothing infants and reducing their distress. 11 Infants' responses to these musical interactions are shaped by their cumulative exposure to music and by concurrent auditory, motor, and cognitive development.…”

Infant Music Development and Music Experiences: A Literature Review

“…As the first music teachers in infants’ lives, researchers have emphasized the crucial roles caregivers play in infants’ music development (Fancourt & Perkins, 2018; Valerio et al, 2011; Valerio, Reynolds, Morgan, & McNair, 2012). According to Trehub (2003), singing to infants may affect infant arousal (e.g., sleeping, wakefulness, movements, and crying), may affect infant-caregiver bonding, and may increase infant survival rates.…”