World Breastfeeding Week 2022: Taylor Swift's Song Has Therapeutic Effects On Breastfeeding Mothers, Study

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual global campaign promoting breastfeeding awareness. In honour of the Innocenti Declaration of 1990, WBW is celebrated every year from 1-7 August.

In 1992, World Breastfeeding Week was established with themes including healthcare systems, women and work, breastfeeding substitutions, community support, ecology, economy, science, education, and human rights. WBW has been aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2016. In addition, the World Health Assembly endorsed WBW as an important strategy for promoting breastfeeding in 2018.

World Breastfeeding Week 2022 theme is Step Up For Breastfeeding: Educate and Support to raise public awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and elevate it to a public health obligation by encouraging organisations and countries to implement measures to preserve breastfeeding [1].

A pregnancy supplement brand in the UK has created the ultimate playlist for breastfeeding parents based on data science results and experts' commentary to mark World Breastfeeding Week.

According to research, Taylor Swift's Invisible Strings has the greatest therapeutic effect on breastfeeding mothers [2].

Taylor Swift's Song Has Therapeutic Effects On Breastfeeding Mothers

To identify Spotify's top-performing breastfeeding songs, the experts used Playlist Miner, an app that aggregates the most popular tracks on Spotify from public playlists that meet your search criteria.

Based on an analysis of the top 100 songs, Taylor Swift's Invisible String was ranked first as the most therapeutic song for nursing mothers, followed by Otis Redding's Reading (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay and Khalid's Location.

According to the BPM of the song, the average resting heart rate of nursing mothers was compared with its BPM, as well as other key metrics, such as energy, loudness, and valance were compared with the average parameters of the song. The figures were then tallied to determine the most therapeutic tracks for breastfeeding mothers.

Featuring plucky guitar notes and a catchy beat, Swift's song is fairly high-energy. Despite this, its average BPM is 83, within the range of resting heart rates. Due to its higher energy level, this track is best enjoyed at the start of your day rather than in the evening. Even though the BPM of the Otis Redding song does not fall within the average resting heart rate range due to its faster tempo, the rest of the metrics fall in that range, hence the poor score on our Index.

According to a Vitabiotics Pregnacare expert, music can assist parents in the process of breastfeeding.

The Link Between Breastfeeding And Music

In several studies, music intervention has been found to positively affect breast milk production in breastfeeding mothers [3].

• Music listening can result in high endorphin levels, which lead to the release of lactogenic hormones, increasing breast milk production [4].
• Listening to music expands blood vessels and improves endothelial function, resulting in the production and release of nitric oxide and endorphins, a reduction in mental stress, and an increase in the production of breast milk [5].

• Breastfeeding frequency and duration are negatively affected by postpartum depression due to increased cortisol levels. There has been evidence that music intervention increases oxytocin levels, which leads to increased milk production [6].
• According to one study, the mother's heartbeat is imprinted in the brain of developing foetuses. In light of this, it is unsurprising that a newborn is calmed and soothed by their parents' heartbeats. This may be why music with a similar beat may aid breastfeeding [7].

On A Final Note...

Breastfeeding can be a rewarding experience as well as a challenging one. You may find breastfeeding music the perfect solution if you find nursing stressful or want to make your feeding sessions more enjoyable. Talk to your doctor for more help.