Group singing can help lift mums out of postnatal depression - and benefit babies, too

At least one in 10 Kiwi women experiences postnatal depression, with heightened anxiety and sleep difficulties often kicking in during pregnancy and sadness, low mood, guilt, and lack of motivation descending after their baby is born.

When depression hits, joining a singing group designed to boost maternal mental health can have profoundly positive effects, both physiological and social, for up to six months, says Dr Rebecca Bind, a lead author of a recent study of London's Melodies for Mums programme.

"Being in this room with other mothers, not even necessarily having to talk about the difficulties that they were experiencing, but just knowing that they were in a room full of other mothers experiencing similar difficulties, really helped with their mental health as well", she tells RNZ's Saturday Morning.

While the "gold standard treatments" for postnatal depression are antidepressants and psychological therapy, Bind says, barriers prevent some mothers from accessing these, so it's really important to offer complementary and easy-to-find alternatives.

In the King's College London study of 199 British mothers experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression, some were randomly assigned to attend a pre-existing mother-and-baby activity programme and others a 10-week Melodies for Mums programme.

At these workshops, specially designed by the non-profit Breathe Arts Health Research, you won't hear 'Wheels on the Bus' or 'I'm a Little Tea Pot'.

Instead, parents are led in singing interactive folk and gospel songs which have been specially selected to help improve their mood and mental health.

The Melodies for Mums participants studied by King's College London showed reduced symptoms of depression, decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol and elevated levels of the hormone oxytocin, which is integral to bonding between a mother and baby, Bind says.

"Even up to six months after the end of the singing sessions, we were seeing that mothers were communicating with their babies better than they were before they started."

Babies benefited from their mums joining Melodies for Mums, too. Those in the study also showed reduced cortisol levels following the programme, Bind says.

"Essentially, [mother and child] became more biologically in tune with each other.

"We would hope that by babies' levels of cortisol going down to and becoming more connected with their mothers, they would go on to have better developmental outcomes.

To take Melodies for Mums around the globe, Breathe Arts Health Research has now partnered with the World Health Organisation, she says.

"There's definitely international interest, which is really amazing."

'Arrorró mi niño' - Spanish lullaby

'Simama Kaa' - Swahili folk song

'Bele Mama' - Cameroonian folk song

'Yani Yoni Ya Hu Wey Hey' - Native American birthing song