In 2025 Live Music Now’s Lullaby Intervention has come to Medway for the first time as part of Medway Creative Health Partnership funded by Arts Council England and is already showing positive impact in terms of improvements in wellbeing and the creation of new a support network for participants.
Developed with local Medway partners over several months, Live Music Now is working in partnership with NHS perinatal mental health teams in Medway to engage women in the Lullaby Intervention who are pregnant or early postnatal. Lullaby sessions are delivered in partnership with Chatham and Wayfield Family Hubs, areas with the lowest arts engagement.
Lullaby Delivery in Medway
Over an 8-week programme of group and one-to-one sessions, new mothers and fathers are paired with musicians to write a personal lullaby for their baby. The process starts by each parent being gently guided to write a personal letter to their baby or express their hopes for their child. Using this wording and through conversations about music and family life, musicians and parents collaborate to create, record and perform a personalised song for their family. Through this collaborative, creative process, parents grow in self-confidence and form stronger bonds with their child.
As part of the 2025 Medway programme we aim to reach 24 parents/families over three 8-week Lullaby Cohorts. 14 Medway families have taken part so far over two Cohorts, with a further 16 expected to participate by December 2025.
Monthly informal and interactive family concerts offer parents who have completed the Lullaby programme offer a chance to remain connected to other participants and the musicians who have shared in an important time in their lives.
“We really hope this class can continue to be available for other families in the future as it was an amazing way for me and my partner to bond with our new baby and enjoy the time we have.” Participant feedback from Medway Lullaby Intervention 2025
Listen to Lullaby created in Medway so far here:
Participant’s Feedback:
“One of the best experience ever as a parent and demonstrates the importance of musical development” Participant feedback from Medway Lullaby Intervention 2025
Participants are asked to complete pre and post project wellbeing questionnaires (rating themselves out of 10, with 10 being the highest/most positive) enabling us to monitor progress and changes across a range of questions.
On Cohort 2 of the Medway Lullaby Intervention, average score ratings from pre and post project wellbeing questionnaires showed increases in life satisfaction; feeling life is worthwhile; and feeling skilled as a parent. The largest increases in:
- Remaining calm when facing difficulties (+2 points)
- Ability to meeting personal expectations as a parent (+2 points)
- Confidence in dealing with unexpected events (+1.5 points)
- Feeling excited and interested in things (+1.2 points)
Health team members supporting the sessions have observed “Bonds created between mothers, parents leave calm & happy”.
“The Lullaby Project is an experience that allows not just an opportunity for parents to make something for their children but an experience that they can take with them forever.” Feedback from Medway Health Team Member.
100% of participants attending the regular family concerts rated their experience of them as 9 or 10 out of 10 (with 10 being the most positive) with many commenting on the warm, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. One participants said the events made them feel:
“Welcome and safe, happy and comfortable, relaxed and happy, included”
What have we learnt so far?
Flexibility and responding to feedback and suggestions from the health team have been key to reaching and engaging target parents/families. Drop-in taster sessions in the Family Hubs have allowed potential participants to get to know and build trusting relationships with musicians before committing to taking part in the longer-term programme.
To adapt to particularly vulnerable participants, we have also scheduled bespoke online 1-1 Lullaby programmes with women who could not or did not wish to attend in-person group sessions.
Live Music Now musicians feel energised from delivering this project. Musician feedback from Medway included: “I love this project so much!”
What’s Next
The Medway Lullaby Intervention will continue during October-December 2025 with one further group Lullaby Cohort; regular family concert bringing the community together; and the introduction of sessions in the local hospital neonatal unit to feed into the community programme.
We look forward to reporting back in early 2026 on all of our delivery and evaluation data once all of the activities have been completed.
Please view the Medway photo album here: Medway Lullaby Project 2025 | Flickr
To find out more contact Ruth Mulvey at [email protected]
