Research & PRACTICE
-
AUSTRALIA
Perinatal singing is an accessible, low cost arts in health modality for perinatal wellbeing and maternal infant bonding. Currently in Australia Singing Mamas sessions are available in Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, Canberra, Bellingen, and Perth.
-
UK
Singing Mamas was originated by nurse, Kate Valentine, has been practised in community settings for over 15 years, and has been prescribed on the NHS in the UK for mothers with postnatal depression.
Singing Mamas Hospital Outreach Program
Singing Mamas being taught to student nurses
-
Worldwide
Perinatal singing research and practice is a growing field with practitioners and researchers in Italy, Denmark, Romania, Canada, The Gambia, Ireland, Australia, and UK.
See below for research links
Arts for Health Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.
Arst for Health Australia is committed to embracing diversity and providing a safe, inclusive space for all.
Creative HEalth & SOCIAL PRESCRIBING.
Are you a GP, local council officer, mum, midwife, nurse, primary health network or community program provider? Would you like Singing Mamas in your community? We’d love to hear from you to make this happen!
We are seeking partners to help provide this benefit Australiawide.
RESEARCH & NEWS
Read about our Singing Mamas program in The Guardian
Scroll down for interview on ABC radio
Published Papers on Perinatal Singing
Cheung, P., McCaffrey, T., Tighe, S., & Mohamad, M. (2024). Healthcare practitioners' experiences and perspectives of music in perinatal care in Ireland: An exploratory survey. Midwifery, 132, 103987 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2024.103987.
Fancourt, D., Aufegger, L., & Williamon, A. (2015). Low-stress and high-stress singing have contrasting effects on glucocorticoid response. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01242
Fancourt, D., & Finn, S. (2019). What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review (WHO Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report 67). World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/403434/WHO-EVIDENCE-ARTS-2019.pdf
Fancourt, D., & Perkins, R. (2018). The effects of mother–infant singing on emotional closeness, affect, anxiety, and stress hormones. Music & Science, 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204317745746
Lega, I., Luzi, I., Mastroeni, S., Ferraro, C., Andreozzi, S., Donati, S., Grussu, P., Cavazzana, V., Proietti, P., Magliocchetti, P., Monaldi, C., Biglia, C., Oreggia, R., Seia, C., Smith, C., Warran, K., & Fietje, N. (2024). Implementing a group singing intervention for postpartum depression within the Italian health service. Frontiers in Medicine, 11, Article 1461965. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1461965
Mani, C. (2022). The 'becomings': singing and songwriting with mothers and midwives at South-East Queensland. Health promotion international. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daac019.
Mani, C. (2022). “Unplug to recharge”: accessing respite through song in a culturally and linguistically diverse perinatal context. Arts & Health, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2022.2140684
Perkins, R., Yorke, S., & Fancourt, D. (2018). Learning to facilitate arts-in-health programmes: A case study of musicians facilitating creative interventions for mothers with symptoms of postnatal depression. International Journal of Music Education, 36(4), 644-658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761418771092
Sanfilippo, K. R. M., Stewart, L., & Glover, V. (2021). How music may support perinatal mental health: an overview. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 24(5), 831–839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01178-5
Stewart, L., McConnell, B., Darboe, B., Glover, V., Huma, H., Sanfilippo, K., Cross, I., Ceesay, H., Ramchandani, P., & Cornelius, V. (2022). Social singing, culture and health: interdisciplinary insights from the CHIME project for perinatal mental health in The Gambia. Health Promotion International, 37, i18 - i25. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab210.
Warran, K., Smith, C., Ugron, H., Carstens, L., Zbranca, R., Ottow, M., Blaga, O., Ladegaard, N., Davis, R., Fancourt, D., & Fietje, N. (2022). Scalability of a singing-based intervention for postpartum depression in Denmark and Romania: protocol for a single-arm feasibility study. BMJ Open, 12. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063420.
The Broader Benefits of Singing
Davidson, J. (2023, February 8). 5 ways singing helps humanity. Pursuit. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/5-ways-singing-helps-humanity
Schladt, T. M., Nordmann, G. C., Emilius, R., Kudielka, B. M., de Jong, T. R., & Neumann, I. D. (2017). Choir versus Solo Singing: Effects on Mood, and Salivary Oxytocin and Cortisol Concentrations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00430
Creative Health
Ground-breaking research series on health benefits of the arts. (2023, September 25). Www.who.int https://www.who.int/news/item/25-09-2023-ground-breaking-research-series-on-health-benefits-of-the-arts
Music and Parental Wellbeing
Music and Parental Wellbeing Alliance. (2025). Musicandparentalwellbeing.org. https://musicandparentalwellbeing.org/
Perkins, R., Rose, K., Graham, D., Durrant, M., Alway, P., Anstee, L., Corcoran, K., East, E., Ettenberger, M., Knight, J., Krause, A., Lense, M., McCaffrey, T., McConnell, B., Ortiz, T., Spiro, N., Swanick, R., & Bahar Tuncgenc. (2025). Music and Parental Wellbeing: A Position Paper. Music & Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043251351761
Find out more about Singing Mamas globally
https://www.singingmamas.org/