Music therapy to relieve anxiety in pregnant women on bedrest: a randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To explore the effect of music therapy on anxiety alleviation for antepartal women on bedrest in China. DESIGN AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients recruited from one tertiary hospital in Changsha city, China were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Women in the experimental group received music therapy for 30 minutes on 3 consecutive days. Usual care participants had a 30-minute rest on 3 consecutive days. Variables included anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and physiological responses (vital signs, fetal heart rate). Descriptive statistics, t tests, chi tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and Pearson correlation analyses were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Anxiety levels decreased and physiological responses improved significantly in the intervention group, which was provided with music therapy while on bedrest. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Carefully selected music that incorporates a patient\'s own preferences may offer an inexpensive and effective method to reduce anxiety for antepartal women with high risk pregnancies who are on bedrest.