Comparison of the Effects of Two Auditory Methods by Mother and Fetus on the Results of Non-Stress Test (Baseline Fetal Heart Rate and Number of Accelerations) in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To compare the effects of two auditory methods by mother and fetus on the results of NST in 2011-2012. Materials and methods: In this single-blind clinical trial, 213 pregnant women with gestational age of 37-41 weeks who had no pregnancy complications were randomly divided into 3 groups (auditory intervention for mother, auditory intervention for fetus, and control) each containing 71 subjects. In the intervention groups, music was played through the second 10 minutes of NST. The three groups were compared regarding baseline fetal heart rate and number of accelerations in the first and second 10 minutes of NST. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and paired T-test. Results: The results showed no significant difference among the three groups regarding baseline fetal heart rate in the first (p = 0.945) and second (p = 0.763) 10 minutes. However, a significant difference was found among the three groups concerning the number of accelerations in the second 10 minutes. Also, a significant difference was observed in the number of accelerations in the auditory intervention for mother (p = 0.013) and auditory intervention for fetus groups (p < 0.001). The difference between the number of accelerations in the first and second 10 minutes was also statistically significant (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Music intervention was effective in the number of accelerations which is the indicator of fetal health. Yet, further studies are required to be conducted on the issue.