Giving birth is one of the most stressful – and painful – experiences women will ever endure, albeit mainly a joyful one too. But what better way to soothe one’s extremely furrowed brow in the delivery room than by listening to a few of your favourite tunes.
And what do most mothers-to-be prefer to have piped out of the speakers? A Rolling Stones classic, a bit of Motown perhaps, some warbling ballad, an Oasis smash, a bit of funk, maybe an easy listening gem?
Think again. ‘Only Love’ by singer-songwriter Ben Howard is the record of choice for expectant mums.
That track may be the 35-year-old’s only top-10 single in the UK, but it has certainly proved to be a number one hit in maternity wings up and down the country in a top-20 birth songs poll carried out by life insurance brokers Reassured. Howard may have pocketed top spot, but The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran were the only acts to have made the list twice.
The top 20 songs were found by using Playlistminer to analyse 1,000 giving birth playlists from Spotify, with Howard’s song being chosen 119 times. Jack Johnson’s ‘Better Together’ came in second, with 103, while Here Comes The Sun – the remastered 2009 version – ensured the Fab Four of third place, just three behind.
The Beatles also grabbed 16th spot, surprisingly with White album track ‘Blackbird’, and ‘Landslide’ and ‘Dreams’ occupied seventh and 12th places for Fleetwood Mac. Coldplay came in 15th and 17th with ‘The Scientist’ and ‘Yellow’ respectively, while ‘Perfect’ was sixth and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ 10th for Sheeran.
A spokesperson from Reassured said: “Music is one of the best things we can use to stay calm when things are getting on top of us. More relaxing music calms the mind and helps you mentally prepare yourself for what comes next, something that’s very important during childbirth.”
Other legends of the music business who featured on the list were Elton John with ‘Your Song’ (11th), Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ (12th) and Lady Gaga’s ‘Shallow’ in 19th position. 1980/90s hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa even made the list in 14th with their 1987 hit ‘Push It’.
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