Prenatal music education in Lithuania: pregnant women's perspective

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Prenatalinis muzikinis ugdymas (PMU); Prenatal musical education; Prenatal music education classes; Unpopularity of prenatal music education in Lithuania.

ENThe paper analyses the geographic frequency of prenatal music education and the institutions providing it; an attempt is made to disclose the reasons preventing this education from becoming more popular. Although repeated studies on the impact of music education on the psycho-emotional state of a pregnant woman and the psychophysical development of the foetus reveal no doubts regarding its benefits, this has not helped musicianship classes during pregnancy to become a common phenomenon in Lithuania. During the research, six respondents were interviewed who during their pregnancy attended music education classes for future mothers (the musical educational health promotion school for pregnant women and children Sveikutis, Vilnius; and the studio of music therapy and meditation Dabartis, Klaipėda), eight women who practised musicianship independently and twelve women who did not practise musicianship at all. The experiences of these twenty six respondents of different age (from 20 to 55 years old) and from different cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Pasvalys and Šiauliai) have disclosed why, until now, prenatal music education in Lithuania has not received the necessary attention. [From the publication]