Effect of the Holy Quran on the Physiological Responses in Premature Infants: A Review

One of the most important methods of complementary medicine is music and phonotherapy and one of the most beautiful sounds is the sound from the recitation of the Quran. We aimed to investigate the effect of the sound of the Quran on physiological responses in preterm infants.

All clinical trials evaluating the Effect of the Sound of the Holy Quran on the physiological responses in premature infants were searched in the online databases of Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science and Medline with no language or time restrictions up to the end of Feb. 2019, using the combination related keywords of Mesh. Two reviewers did study selection.

Five studies with a sample size of 360 were included in this review. In the first study, the mean of respiratory and heart rates significantly decreased and oxygen saturation levels increased in the Quran group compared to the control groups. In the second study, there was a significant difference in the oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate between the two groups. In the third study, there was a significant difference in arterial blood oxygen levels and heart rates between the groups. In the fourth study, two groups (Quran recitation and control) were surveyed at minute 10 and 20 of intervention, also at minute10 post intervention; there were significant differences in respiratory rates and oxygen saturation levels at the three time points. In the fifth study, results did not indicate any significant differences in the mean of responses in four groups (Quran recitation, lullaby music, silence, and control groups). Conclusion Listening to recitation of the Quran can improve physiological parameters (reduced heart and respiratory rates, and increased oxygen saturation level) in preterm infants.