To
improve the emotional bonding between mother and child
There are now many studies on the development of fetal hearing and the effects of intrauterine and external sound (the voice of the mother or music) on the fetus and its development. ¹
In HeartMusic therapy during pregnancy, we use music not as a stimulation but rather as a means of communication, through which we can perceive the vital, changing rhythms of the maternal and fetal autonomic regulation and thus their respective emotional and physiological states. Particularly important is the perception of the symbiotic nature of the maternal and fetal heart activity and the reciprocal influence of this activity on the respective autonomous regulations of the other.
New studies give clear evidence of a direct physiological interaction between the maternal and fetal heart activity. ²
In
HeartMusic
therapy during pregnancy, the
maternal and fetal heart rate variability (HRV)
is measured and converted into music.
HRV
describes the ability of the autonomic nervous system to continuously
regulate
the time intervals of one heartbeat to the next, according to load, and
thus to
accommodate,
flexibly and rapidly, to ever-changing challenges. It is a
measure of the
global fitness of an organism to internal and external stimuli (stress).
A sufficiently large HRV is a reference to health, in
particular on the current ability of an organism to respond
appropriately to
constantly changing internal and external loads.
People
in whom HRV is restricted, develop in a much
higher percentage, sooner or later, a sustained extreme level of
destructive
stress hormones, suppressed immune activity and a wide range of stress
related
somatic, psychosomatic and mental disorders.
Physical as well as mental stress can be experienced, through
the mother-child bond, also by the fetus as such. Studies show that
prenatal
stress has an impact on the development of children.
Prenatal
stress is connected with, on the one hand, negative physical
developement and, on the other hand, mental changes in the
form of behavioral problems, such as attention deficit, anxiety and
hyperactivity in children.
For HeartMusic
during
pregnancy, the heart sounds of
the growing child are recorded with a phonocardiograph
by means of a microphone and heart sound amplifier and converted into
music.
The application of the phonocardiograph is safe. Neither the apparatus
nor the microphones emit any radiation (no ultrasound!) during the
measurement.
The phonocardiograph can be used from ca. 28 weeks gestation and is
recommended
from the 32nd week on.
At
the same time, the heart sounds of the mother are recorded,
via adhesive electrodes, with an electrocardiograph (ECG device) and
also converted
into music.
From
maternal and fetal heart rate variability:
2 Anja & child
3 Sylvia & child
HeartMusic therapy during pregnancy consists of two phases:
The second phase: A stress intervention, on the basis of a regulated breathing exercise, helps the mother to synchronize her respiratory and cardiac systems and thereby balance the autonomic nervous regulation. The heart music changes audibly. This intervention reduces not only the current effects of stress; it will also help to better cope with stress and illness in the future.
- Unplanned / unwanted pregnancies
- Pregnancy conflicts of any kind
- Complications in pregnancy (bleeding....)
- Fears of the mother regarding the child
- Problems in previous pregnancies
- Diseases of the child
- Medical / technical-related loss of intuition of the mother to her child
Indications Postpartum:
- Postpartum separation trauma
- Family conflicts (especially mother-child)
- Physical developmental disorders
- Emotional developmental disorders
- ADS....
- Learning difficulties
Effects:
HeartMusic:
- re-establishes the "primal" connection between mother and child;
- strengthens the confidence of the mother regarding her pregnancy / her child / her own intuitions;
- reduces anxiety through emotional relaxation (the music is very soothing and balancing) and promotes a better "body feeling" for the mother and towards her child;
- the intuitive perceptions of the mother of the child and her own infantile needs (important in terms of the mother’s relationship to birth!) greater self-determination of the mother this course of pregnancy and childbirth; deeper emotional connection during pregnancy.
- the emotional bonding between mother and child;
- the feelings of: confidence in the life / security / being wanted / "being OK" / being accepted / having a place in the family, in life. Improves the sense of body and the perception of ones own needs;
- the feelings of: a reason to live and the right to adequately express oneself, to be noticed and to get attention.
- breathing (this betters placental circulation)
- metabolic processes in general (better supplying the child’s needs)
- regulation of the autonomic nervous system (thus less stress phases for mother and child).
Further reading:
Literatur
1. "The
Acoustic Environment and Physiological Responses of the Fetus
"
http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v20/n1s/pdf/7200445a.pdf
2. Van
Leeuwen
P,
et
al. (2009)
Influence
of paced maternal breathing on
fetal–maternal heart rate coordination.
Proc Natl
Acad Sci