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Important Note
Advice provided on this website is not medical advice for the individual. Although advice on this page is verified from reliable sources, correct medical advice for the individual should always be obtained from their chosen medical Doctor or allied health professional.
What is a Sound Bath Meditation ?
Firstly it’s very important to understand what a sound bath meditation is.
Sound bath is a style of meditation, where live musical sounds are expertly produced with sound therapy instruments by the expert facilitator to induce deep relaxation of mind and body.
There is a growing body of empirical evidence which shows us the certain sound frequencies along with the expert playing techniques (as taught by Irish Academy of Sound Therapy) during this deep relaxation of mind and body, trigger the body to re-calibrate the autonomous nervous system, to the state of deep rest and relaxation necessary for homeostasis, optimum balance and healthy functioning of all body systems to occur.
The healing which occurs to the individual as a result of this state of deep rest and relaxation is always self-healing.
Beware of Unsupported Claims
There is quite a growing number of individuals who are conducting sound bath meditations without having had adequate specialist training. This is showing through in the unsupported claims being made about the safety of sound bath meditation during pregnancy..
Such claims include the advice that sound bath meditation is unsafe during any stage of pregnancy. Or that sound bath meditation is unsafe during the first trimester of pregnancy, and so on. This may be true for certain individuals in some cases, but medical advice of this nature should never be provided as general advice for everyone, especially by someone who isn’t the right kind of expert.
So, What are the Facts ?
It is very important to understand how and why Sound Bath meditation (as taught by Irish Academy of Sound Therapy) is perfectly safe for healthy people of all ages, including during the most stages of pregnancy.
Knowing when sound bath meditation is not safe during pregnancy requires expertise and accurate knowledge along with some good common sense. When it comes to knowing if sound bath is safe during pregnancy there is always one fundamental rule to remember – which is this:
1. Sound bath meditation is always contra-indicated (must be strictly avoided) during pregnancy IF:
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- There is any likelihood of premature labour for reason(s) unknown
- There is any likelihood of premature labour for reason(s) unknown
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Including: (but not limited to)
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- Final stages of pregnancy, especially during the last 2-4 weeks
- Or as recommended by the individual’s own medical Doctor
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This means a Doctors advice is absolutely essential for:
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- High risk pregnancy (at any stage)
- IVF pregnancy
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With some high risk pregnancies, and some IVF pregnancies the deep rest and relaxation provided by a sound bath meditation may in fact be exactly what the individual needs. Only the individual’s own medical Doctor is qualified and fully informed about their medical case history to give the expert advice needed for their unique situation.
If a woman who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant has any concerns or questions the ONLY person they should obtain their medical advice from is their own Doctor. Their own Doctor is the only professional with a full case history of the individual along with the medical expertise necessary to guide them with the correct advice for their unique circumstances.
It is also very important to know & understand that any medical advice provided online is always general advice and should never be taken as advice for individual circumstances. For accurate medical advice for individual, consultation with a medical Doctor is always necessary.
Oxytocin and Sound Bath Meditation
Some misguided folks are giving the advice that sound bath meditation may induce premature labour due to the release of Oxytocin, without citing any evidence to support this claim.
What is Oxytocin ?
Oxytocin is one of several “happiness hormones” naturally created by the brain and released into the bloodstream when you are happy, including when you smile or laugh. (Source: Dr Madan Kataria, Founder of Laughter Yoga, and Sharon Q. from Laughter Yoga Academy Ireland)
Sound bath meditation does indeed make people happy, and some folks can experience a euphoric feeling as their mind enters the trance states induced by the expert sound bath meditation facilitator. This is believed to be equivalent to the Oxytocin produced in the body by laughter.
It is a fact that Oxytocin is medically administered during late stages of pregnancy to assist with the onset of labour and childbirth. Medically administered Oxytocin does not induce labour when administered in earlier stages of pregnancy, because other chemicals naturally produced during childbirth are not yet present in the body.
Laughter is not contraindicated in pregnancy for its role in the production of Oytocin. Laughter may contraindicated in pregnancy for some women for physical reasons, including:.
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- Certain high-risk pregnancies which may result in premature birth, or
- In the case of pregnancy-induced incontinence.
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If your Doctor hasn’t requested that you avoid laughter during pregnancy, there is a very good chance sound bath meditation will be perfectly safe if you follow our common sense guidelines and No.1 rule mentioned above. if you have any questions please ask your Doctor, every time.
It has been proven for some women, that climax during intercourse during the last 2 weeks of pregnancy will result in childbirth within 24 hours. It is not known if Oxytocin is only factor in this outcome, as there are obviously other contributing factors.
There is absolutely no reason to believe sound bath meditation alone would result in the same outcome, but we dont’ recommend sound bath meditation in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy anyway, when childbirth may be imminent. A Doctors advice is absolutely essential for anyone with any concerns about the safety of sound bath meditation during pregnancy. Nobody else is qualified to give individual advice.
Outside Sounds and Unborn Baby’s Hearing
There are some misguided folks creating sound bath meditations who are making unsupported claims that sound bath meditation can cause damage to the unborn baby’s hearing. When I asked a medical Doctor I know for his advice on this he laughed and said to me “if that was the case, nobody would ever be using medical Ultrasound imaging during pregnancy, Radiology clinics would be getting sued all over the place, all the babies would be born hearing impaired!”
Anyone who knows and understands basic physics will know that sound travels five times faster through water than it does through air, which means it is impossible for most people underwater to discern which direction a sound generated underwater has come from.
However a sound”s volume can only increase underwater if the sound is generated within the body of water. Sound volume does not transfer through different mediums, ie. sounds created in the air outside a body of water, won’t ever be amplified by the water, the water will act to greatly muffle the sound.
Amniotic fluid does indeed conduct sound waves, but amniotic fluid won’t ever amplify sound created in the air outside the mother’s body. The skin and tissue surrounding the amniotic fluid in the mother’s womb will absorb the sound and muffle it by the time it reaches the amniotic fluid of the womb.
Regarding the effects of outside noise on the unborn child, the USA Centre for Disease Control (CDC) who are the worldwide government authority and source for all medical information, advise that “Sounds from outside the body are lower inside the womb, but not completely silenced”.
Source and full article here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/reproductive-health/prevention/noise.html
Amogh (https://physics.stackexchange.com/users/360890/amogh), Does fluid amplify sound?, URL (version: 2024-09-22): https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/828698
Advice from the CDC (Center for Disease Control USA) regarding unsafe levels of occupational noise, is being incorrectly taken out of context and used as sound bath advice for pregnant women. This advice from the CDC is for occupational health and safety for pregnant workers in noisy work environments eg. where shouting is necessary to be heard over background workplace noise, which does not apply to sound bath which is well below the 85 decibels stated.
Advice for prolongued occupational noise includes:
“For adults, noise with a volume of 85 decibels (dBA) or more is considered hazardous to your hearing. At this noise level, you would need to shout at the top of your voice for someone right next to you to hear what you are saying. From 6 feet away (the length of a yoga mat, it would be impossible for anyone to hear a person shouting. Sound Bath meditation does not meet these noise levels.
Sounds from outside the body are lower inside the womb, but not completely silenced. Some experts believe that people who are pregnant should not be routinely around noise louder than 115 dBA even with hearing protection. The reason for this is most likely that the effects on unborn child are unknown and any studies of this nature simply would not be ethical.
This is based on what we know about how sound moves through a body. A noise level of 115 dBA is roughly as loud as a chainsaw. Pregnant women are advised to avoid areas that are louder than 115 dBA during pregnancy, even while wearing hearing protection.
In a nutshell, it’s best for pregnant women to avoid any low frequency occupational noise greater than 115db (noises you feel as a rumble or vibration). Low-frequency noise travels through your body more easily than high-frequency noise. It is not known to what extent these very loud low-frequency noise may affect a developing baby so it’s always best avoided.
Source and full article:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/reproductive-health/prevention/noise.html
Important Note on Low Frequency Sounds
The above recommendations from the CDC for pregnant workers to avoid low frequency occupational noise greater than 85db to 115db or more, are for noisy work environments such as heavy machinery, sirens etc experienced continuously over a prolongued period of time for example for the duration of a typical 8 hour shift, such as industrial noise .
Low frequency sounds to avoid during pregnancy are those loud enough to be considered hazardous, equal or greater than 85 decibels, such as live musical performance on a concert stage with deep thumping bass sounds.
Sound Bath meditation (as taught by Irish Academy of Sound Therapy) does not meet these conditions.
About the Author:
Sharon Q is a former Software Engineer and Data Analyst, Technical Writer and College Lecturer and qualified in adult education in her homeland Australia. With over 30+ years experience in sound & vibrational medicine in a range of clinical, education and research settings, Sharon is also a Sound & Energy Therapist, Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Certified Laughter Yaga Trainer and Professional musician. Sharon is currently a student of Naturopathic Medicine, and has written this article in consultation with a medical Doctor.
Sharon is the Founder & Principal of Irish Academy of Sound Therapy, Laughter Yoga Academy Ireland and Mind Body Health Clinic.
