Breathe Melodies for Mums

Research results: Benefits of singing for PND 

The research showed that singing can have multiple benefits: 

• For mums with moderate-severe symptoms of PND, the group singing programme led to significantly faster recovery than creative play or care as normal. After just six weeks of singing, these mums had experienced a decrease of nearly 35% in their symptoms. 65% no longer had moderate-severe symptoms.  
• Group singing is linked with greater increases in perceived mother-baby closeness in comparison to other social interactions.  
• Group singing with other mums is associated with greater decreases in cortisol, a stress hormone, than other social interactions.  
• Singing to babies daily is linked with fewer symptoms of PND as well as enhanced wellbeing and self-esteem. 

Women reported that singing supported them in five unique ways, which help to explain the results above. It provided:

• An authentic, inclusive, and social creative activity.
• A way to calm their baby.
• Me-time that allowed them to be immersed in an activity.
• A sense of achievement and identity.
• Enhanced feelings of closeness with their baby.

Translating research to practice 

Breathe’s 2017 Lambeth-based Breathe Melodies for Mums programme was the first ever translation of this research into practice. It uses the same structure and set-up for the singing groups that was developed in the original research. Since 2017, Breathe Melodies for Mums has expanded across the UK. It is now offered in ten-week programmes, both in-person and online. Breathe Melodies for Mums has continued to further evidence the benefits of singing on PND symptoms.

Building the evidence base with brand new research

Breathe Melodies for Mums was part of a research study funded by Wellcome Trust: The Scaling-Up Health-Arts Programmes: Implementation and Effectiveness Research – Postnatal Depression (SHAPER-PND) study. This research engaged 199 mothers and their babies, investigating how group singing can support mental and social health as well as stress. This is the largest-scale research to date on singing and PND.

The “Clinical effectiveness, implementation effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a community singing intervention for postnatal depressive symptoms, SHAPER-PND: randomised controlled trial” study was published on 15 October 2025. The study found that Breathe Melodies for Mums had a long-lasting effect on symptoms of PND, was associated with 15 extra days of health, was found to be cost-effective and was perceived to be more suitable than existing activities.  Therefore, Breathe Melodies for Mums represents a worthwhile investment for healthcare systems as an intervention for mothers experiencing symptoms of PND.

Preceding this and during the pandemic, we delivered sessions online as part of the SHAPER-PNDO (Online) study, looking at how online group singing can support mental health during times of social isolation.  Initial results on feasibility, clinical efficacy and well-being outcomes were published in 2023.

Publications

Bind RH, Lawrence AJ, Estevao C, et al. Clinical effectiveness, implementation effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a community singing intervention for postnatal depressive symptoms, SHAPER-PND: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry. Published online 2025:1-10. doi:10.1192/bjp.2025.10377. Read it here.

Han E, Davis R, Soukup T, et al. Implementation of singing groups for postnatal depression: experiences of participants and professional stakeholders in the SHAPER-PND randomised controlled trial. Frontiers in Health Services. Published online 2025: Volume 5. doi:10.3389/frhs.2025.1582517. Read it here.

Bind, R.H., Sawyer, K., Hazelgrove, K. et al. Feasibility, clinical efficacy, and well-being outcomes of an online singing intervention for postnatal depression in the UK: SHAPER-PNDO, a single-arm clinical trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud 9, 131 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-023-01360-9. Read it here.

Burton, A., Bind, R.H., Davis, R. et al. A qualitative exploration of active ingredients and mechanisms of action of an online singing programme with mothers experiencing postnatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: SHAPER-PNDO study. BMC Psychol 12, 714 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02213-7. Read it here.

Fancourt, D., & Perkins, R. (2018). Effect of singing interventions on symptoms of postnatal depression: Three-arm randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 212(2), 119-121. doi:10.1192/bjp.2017.29. Read it here.

Greenwood, Lorna, and others, ‘Group singing and postnatal depression’, in Rosie Perkins (ed.), Music and Parental Mental Wellbeing (Oxford, 2024; online edn, Oxford Academic, 23 May 2024), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192863287.003.0004. Read it here.

Research Protocols

Bind, R.H., Estevao, C., Fancourt, D. et al. Online singing interventions for postnatal depression in times of social isolation: a feasibility study protocol for the SHAPER-PNDO single-arm trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud 8, 148 (2022). Read it here.

Estevao C, Bind R, Fancourt D, et al. SHAPER-PND trial: clinical effectiveness protocol of a community singing intervention for postnatal depression. BMJ Open 2021;11:e052133. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052133. Read it here.

Warran K, Smith C, Ugron H, et al. Scalability of a singing-based intervention for postpartum depression in Denmark and Romania: protocol for a single-arm feasibility study. BMJ Open 2022;12:e063420. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063420 . Read it here.

References

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2019), Creative interventions for symptoms of postnatal depression: a process evaluation of implementation, Arts & Health, 11, 38-53 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Does attending community music interventions lead to changes in wider musical behaviours? The effect of mother-infant singing classes on musical behaviours amongst mothers with symptoms of postnatal depression, Psychology of Music, 47, 132-143 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Could listening to music during pregnancy be protective against postnatal depression and poor wellbeing post birth? Longitudinal associations from a preliminary prospective cohort study, BMJ Open, 8 (e021251), 1-8 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), The effect of singing interventions on symptoms of postnatal depression: a three-arm randomised controlled trial, British Journal of Psychiatry, 212, 119-121 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Maternal engagement with music up to nine months post-birth: findings from a cross-sectional study in England, Psychology of Music, 46, 238-251 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Singing for mother-infant bonding: the effects of mother-infant singing on emotional closeness, affect and anxiety, Music & Science, 1 [DOI]. 

Fancourt D & Perkins R (2017), Associations between singing to babies and symptoms of postnatal depression, wellbeing, self-esteem and mother-infant bond, Public Health, 145, 149-152 [DOI]. 

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, 644-658 [DOI]. 

Perkins R, Yorke S, & Fancourt D (2018), How group singing facilitates recovery from the symptoms of postnatal depression: A comparative qualitative study, BMC Psychology, 6 (41), 1-12 [DOI].