Community Health Intervention through Music Engagement for Perinatal Mental Health

GOLTC Global Perinatal Mental Health Interest Group webinar 

 Date: 3 June 2025 

Time: 10:00 to 11:00 BST  (you can check your local time here.)

Link: Register to join on Zoom

Abstract 

Perinatal mental health problems affect up to one in five women worldwide. Mental health problems in the perinatal period are a particular challenge in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they can be at least twice as frequent as in higher income countries. It is thus of high priority to develop new low-cost, low-resource, non-stigmatising and culturally appropriate approaches to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression perinatally, for the benefit of both mother and child. Music-centred approaches may be particularly useful in The Gambia since a range of musical practices that specifically engage pregnant women and new mothers already exist. In this talk I will discuss our partnership building approach within the CHIME project (Community Health Intervention through Musical Engagement), qualitative findings relating to the lived experience of perinatal mental distress in the Gambia, and outcomes relating to a feasibility trial of the CHIME intervention. Plans for a forthcoming 4 year, multi-site project will also be presented. 

Biography 

Lauren Stewart’s undergraduate degree was in Physiological Sciences at Balliol College Oxford, where she also studied for an MSc in Neuroscience. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (UCL), followed by postdoctoral positions at Newcastle University and a travelling fellowship to Harvard Medical School. Prior to starting at Roehampton, she was at Goldsmiths, University of London where she founded the MSc programme in the Music, Mind and Brain lab. Her research has focused on topics including congenital amusia, musical training as a model of plasticity, and spontaneous musical imagery while her current projects focus on the application of participatory music-based interventions to support perinatal mental health, particularly in the Global South. 

The webinar will cover:

1. Introduction to the Global Observatory of Long-Term care and welcome (Adelina Comas-Herrera, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE, UK)
2. Introduction to the Global Perinatal Mental Health GOLTC Interest Group (Annette  Bauer, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE, UK) 
3. Presentation: Community Health Intervention through Music Engagement for Perinatal Mental Health (www.chimeproject.com) (Lauren Stewart, University of Roehampton, UK) 
4. Discussion (Annette Bauer, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE, UK)