Music during Birth and Labor
Emily Kossila
One my favorite parts of the labor’s I’ve attended as a doula and my own personal labors are having music present. I absolutely love having a soundtrack to rely on as a comfort measures, and one of the brightest memories I had during the birth of my son was listening to my doula’s and midwives sing softly. Music is such a beautifully unique and truly human expression, and I think it can be a great tool to use at your own labors. Here are some tips for including music in your own labor and births, and what they may look, or rather sound, like.
Choosing the songs
What I found the trickiest part for music at birth was narrowing down my song choice. How was I supposed to know what I would want to listen to? Is there a “right” kind of music that I should be gravitating towards. I’d heard a lot of “relaxation” tracks being played at hospitals...but I was pretty sure whale songs weren’t quite going to cut it for me. Maybe whale songs are your jam, but if not I’d break your music choice into three playlists or sections:
Relaxation Tunes
These will be the songs that you may play when you’re just wanting to chill. I like to include some non-verbal songs (classical, beats, instrumental), for the times when lyrics may become distracting; for example, transition or later in labor. These songs are to get your entire body relaxed so you can get that Oxytocin hormone flowin’ and bring baby closer to your arms.
Get to Work!
These will be songs that motivate make you want to move! Movement can be a great tool in labor, so something to get everyone in the room energized and engaged. Check out your workout playlist for those empowering songs, for when you may hit a wall in labor and need to get over that hurdle.
Baby’s first songs
Having a separate playlist for what you may want your baby’s first song (or special song, doesn’t have to necessarily be the first) to be is so precious. At a hectic time after birth when everyone’s so excited that a new person just entered the world, I love the special memory it can create to bring everyone back to the new family as they bask in the joy of their child as they play a special song. As a bonus, the songs will remain with you and your child for their entire life to bring you back to that time you met them when you hear that song. My children’s songs were We’re Going to be Friends by the White Stripes and For Baby (For Bobbie) sang by Mary Travers (she had performed the John Denver song after the birth of her daughter).
My daughter’s birth song was actually turned into a childrens book written by Jack White, so we ended up with an extra bonus of being able to enjoy the song with our children on a whole ‘nother level.
(Image: Red Book cover with the text we’re going to be friends featuring two dark skinned elvish looking creatures with curly hair holding hands in school clothes in black and white. White fall leaves are falling around them.)
Logistics of Playing the Music
Most hospitals and birth centers have speakers available to use. I always encourage clients to ask about their usage during your tour, or even better bring your music playing device along to test the hook ups. It’s best to bring a third party device (laptop, old iPod, CD player, etc) vs relying on your cell phone for music because you don’t want to interrupt your tunes if you want to take a picture or update your birth team.
Also be sure to bring headphones. I’ve had some clients want to keep their music private and to themselves to go into their own labor land, and having headphones was critical to them.
If you’re planning on birthing at home, I would make sure that you have multiple areas of your home set up for music, because you never know when you’re going to settle for labor. During my home birth, I had my bedroom setup as the “birthing suite” with my laptop, speakers, and all my playlists. Then, I ended up spending the first half of my labor downstairs in my living room, far away from my perfect playlists. We ended up grabbing some CDs and playing some of my favorite albums, but the planner in me was kicking myself a little bit.
Pick your favorites and have them ready to go on a playlist or CD, so you won’t be stuck on a pandora playlist you thought’d be a good call. You never know when a gem like this (image below) pops up and you’re all out of skips.
Kidding aside, I hope you found these tips helpful as you prepare for your birth, and have a little more direction on what you want to be listening to as your baby comes earthside.
What songs did you use in your labor?