Overview

• King’s College London researchers reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry that 199 mothers were randomly assigned to group singing or to existing community mother–baby activities.
• Six months after the course, average Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores were 9.85 for the singing group versus 11.4 for controls, following improvements in both groups at ten weeks.
• Engagement was higher in the singing arm, with 77% retained at ten weeks compared with 57% in the control group, and participants rated the programme more acceptable and appropriate.
• The intervention was estimated to cost about £130 per mother, with indications it could meet government cost-effectiveness guidelines for the NHS.
• Early analyses pointed to reductions in stress hormones, and researchers stressed the programme is an adjunct to GP-led care that may feel less stigmatising than conventional treatments.