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Abstract

Background
Participatory music-based interventions can promote mental health and connectedness across diverse contexts, including in the perinatal period. However, research on participatory music-based perinatal interventions is limited and typically focused on postnatal depression. This study explores the various elements of four music-based interventions supporting different severities of perinatal mental health needs.

Methods
Five musician leads and two clinicians were interviewed from four music-based perinatal interventions. Interviews explored the key features, goals, impacts and challenges of each intervention.

Results
A reflexive thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) Incorporating varied musical activities; (2) Fostering a supportive community; (3) Affecting psycho-emotional change; and (4) Strategies for accessibility.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates the multiple mechanisms through which participatory music interventions can promote perinatal mental health, including emotional regulation, self-compassion and coping skills. These findings can be used to guide future interventions for a wider spectrum of severities and types of perinatal mental health.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Publisher Keywords:	Perinatal; mental health; participatory music; qualitative; intervention facilitation
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Healthcare Services Research & Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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