Background: Many researchers have pointed out the strong relationship between maternal psychological well-being and fetal welfare during pregnancy. The impact of music interventions during pregnancy should be examined in depth, as they could have an impact on stress reduction, not only during pregnancy but also during the course of delivery, and furthermore induce fetal awareness. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of music on maternal anxiety, before and after a non-stress test (NST), and the effect of music on the birthing process. Material and method: The four hundred and nine pregnant women coming for routine prenatal care were randomized in the third trimester to receive either music (n = 204) or no music (n = 205) stimulation during an NST. The primary outcome was considered as the maternal state anxiety score before and after the NST, and the secondary outcome was the birthing process. Results: Before their NST, full-term pregnant women who had received music intervention were found to have a similar state-trait anxiety score to those from the control group, with 38.10 ± 8.8 and 38.08 ± 8.2, respectively (p = .97). After the NST, the mean state-trait anxiety score of each group was recorded, with results of 30.58 ± 13.2 for those with music intervention, and 43.11 ± 15.0 for those without music intervention (p < .001). In the control group, the NST was followed by a statistically significant increase in the state-trait anxiety score (38.08 ± 8.2 versus 43.11 ± 15.0, p < .001). However, listening to music during the NST resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the state-trait anxiety score of the study group (38.10 ± 8.8 versus 30.58 ± 13.2, OR = 0.87, p < .001). Furthermore, the first stage of labor was shorter in women who received music stimulation (OR = 0.92, p < .004). They also presented a more natural delivery beginning (spontaneous) and less medication (stimulated and induced) than those who were not stimulated musically, with statistically significant differences (p < .01). Conclusions: Prenatal music intervention could be a useful and effective tool to reduce anxiety in full-term pregnant women during an NST and improve the delivery process by reducing the first stage of labor in nulliparous women.

The continued expand of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, confinement measures and an urgent change in the education of nursing students from traditional education to distance learning throughout the country affect the mental health of university students. This study analyzed state-trait anxiety levels of nursing students because of e-Learning during two periods of the COVID-19 confinement. A mixed follow-up study was used, which evaluates the same cohort cross-sectionally but with a longitudinal component. A sample of 460 nursing students of the Nursing Degree at the University of Lorca (Murcia) and University of Almería (Spain) completed an online anxiety level questionnaire using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) during the first and fourth weeks of the COVID-19 confinement. Total anxiety levels increased in the fourth week, as compared to the first week (first week: 50.4 ± 20.8 and fourth week: 59.9 ± 10.6 (p < 0.001)). The linear regression model showed that the significant predictors for STAI anxiety in nursing students were being in the last year of the degree program, being female, and spending confinement in a house without a garden. In general, most nursing students were emotionally affected by high levels of anxiety of state-trait during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Perinatal death is the death of a baby that occurs between the 22nd week of pregnancy (or when the baby weighs more than 500 g) and 7 days after birth. After perinatal death, parents experience the process of perinatal grief. Midwives and nurses can develop interventions to improve the perinatal grief process. The aim of this review was to determine the efficacy of nursing interventions to facilitate the process of grief as a result of perinatal death. A systematic review of the literature was carried out. Studies that met the selection criteria underwent a quality assessment using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Four articles were selected out of the 640 found. Two are quasi-experimental studies, and two are randomized controlled clinical studies. The interventions that were analyzed positively improve psychological self-concept and role functions, as well as mutual commitment, depression, post-traumatic stress and symptoms of grief. These interventions are effective if they are carried out both before perinatal loss and after it has occurred. The support of health professionals for affected parents, their participation in the loss, expressing feelings and emotions, using distraction methods, group sessions, social support, physical activity, and family education are some of the effective interventions.

Training in basic life support (BLS) using clinical simulation improves compression rates and the development of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. This study analyzed the learning outcomes of undergraduate nursing students taking a BLS clinical simulation course. A total of 479 nursing students participated. A pre-test and post-test were carried out to evaluate theoretical knowledge of BLS through questions about anatomical physiology, cardiac arrest, the chain of survival, and CPR. A checklist was used in the simulation to evaluate practical skills of basic CPR. The learning outcomes showed statistically significant differences in the total score of the pre-test and after completing the BLS clinical simulation course (pre-test: 12.61 (2.30), post-test: 15.60 (2.06), p < 0.001). A significant increase in the mean scores was observed after completing the course in each of the four parts of the assessment protocol (p < 0.001). The increase in scores in the cardiac arrest and CPR sections were relevant (Rosenthal’s r: −0.72). The students who had prior knowledge of BLS scored higher on both the pre-test and the post-test. The BLS simulation course was an effective method of teaching and learning BLS skills.