Abstract
Maternal depression, stress, and anxiety-- significant problems for women during late
pregnancy and the first year of an infant’s life-- both influence and are influenced by the
mother's level of maternal adjustment. Maternal adjustment refers to the ways that a mother
thinks about, feels towards, and interacts with her infant. Positive maternal adjustment
consists of possessing a high level of maternal competence, taking pleasure in the maternal
role, and viewing one’s infant in a positive light. While maternal adjustment is a public
health concern, there are few existent resources for clinicians wishing to address maternal
adjustment. However, music therapy has demonstrated efficacy in addressing all three
aspects of maternal adjustment. Because of the need for resources and the efficacy of music
therapy, the following pages contain a proposal for the creation of a manual for music
therapy clinicians working to address maternal adjustment and the manual itself.
