Baby is coming, and there's no turning back now! If you're looking for a quick and easy step to take that can help get you through labor, consider turning on some tunes. A variety of studies have linked music during labor to lower pain intensity and decreased anxiety (Hollins Martin et al., 2014; Lin et al., 2019).
Wondering which songs will power you through the pain? While some women prefer soft spa music, I have my own delivery-themed suggestions:
Labor and Birth Playlist:
"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing", Jack Johnson
"It's Time", Imagine Dragons
"I'm Coming Out", Diana Ross
"Under Pressure", Queen & David Bowie
"Got to Get You Into My Life", The Beatles
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", Kelly Clarkson
"Feel It Still", Portugal The Man
"I Want to Break Free", Queen
"Just Breathe", Pearl Jam
"I Won't Back Down", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
"Send Me On My Way", Rusted Root
"Start Me Up", The Rolling Stones
"I Won't Give Up", Jason Mraz
"All These Things That I've Done", The Killers
"Come and Get Your Love", Redbone
"Go All the Way", Raspberries
"CAN'T STOP THE FEELING!", Justin Timberlake
"Anything Could Happen", Ellie Goulding
"Wild Wild Life", Talking Heads
"You Shook Me All Night Long", AC/DC
"Takin' Care of Business", Bachman-Turner Overdrive
"You Aint Seen Nothin Yet", BTO
"Don't Stop", Fleetwood Mac
"Push It", Salt-N-Pepa
"Inside Out", Eve 6
"Paralyzer", Finger Eleven
"The Middle", Jimmy Eat World
"Ho Hey", The Lumineers
"Let It Go", James Bay
"Closing Time", Semisonic
"With a Little Help From My Friends", The Beatles
"Electric Love", BØRNS
"Someone New", Hoozier
"Every Breath You Take", The Police
"Lullaby", Shawn Mullins
"Here Comes the Sun", The Beatles
"Better Together", Jack Johnson
"Counting Stars", OneRepublic
"Hold You In My Arms", Ray LaMontagne
"All of Me", John Legend
"Little Wonders", Rob Thomas
"Sweet Child Of Mine", Guns N' Roses
"Feel the Love (feat. John Newman)", Rudimental
"New Soul", Yael Naim
Sources:
Hollins Martin CJ, Martin CR. Development and psychometric properties of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R). Midwifery. 2014 Jun;30(6):610-9.
Lin HH, Chang YC, Chou HH, Chang CP, Huang MY, Liu SJ, Tsai CH, Lei WT, Yeh TL. Effect of music interventions on anxiety during labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PeerJ. 2019 May 15;7:e6945.