Berlin Philharmonic Seeks Pregnant Women to Participate in Study

The third stage of the "Creativity in Pregnancy" study seeks to discover whether creative interventions improve the course of pregnancy and the child's development

Members of the Berlin Philharmonic are preparing to take part in the third stage of a large study examining music and pregnancy. Titled "Creativity During Pregnancy," the research is being carried out by the Clara Angela Foundation, in collaboration with the orchestra.

The study is investigating the role that creativity might play in reducing stress for both mother and child during pregnancy — especially in the context of external factors including pandemics, environmental disasters, war, and flight.

The study's working hypothesis is that creative interventions improve the course of pregnancy and the child's development. Researchers are testing this theory by inviting expectant mothers in their 12th to 20th week of pregnancy to take part in six concerts and five workshops in the first half of 2025.

These will take place at two- to three-week intervals, and mothers will be asked to carry out their own music-making and listening at home. Obstetricians and other researchers will also administer non-invasive examinations and surveys to collect data.

You can find out more about the project and sign up here.

"There are indications that stress in pregnancy affects not only the mother but also the child, and even the child's illnesses later in life," said Professor Lars Hellmeyer.

"Children start to hear very early on," added Professor Birgit Arabin. "The sense of hearing is already well developed in a mother's womb. By 18 to 20 weeks the middle ear is already the same size as in adulthood."

"I think that with the project we can pass on the positive intentions of the artists and of the scientists and hand them down to future generations. Not just the next generation in the form of the children before us, but — and this is scientifically proven — to later generations as a result of epigenetic processes."