Hear me Roar! Top songs for childbirth

Katy Perry's Roar and the Diana Ross classic Ain't No Mountain High Enough are the most popular songs women choose to listen to while giving birth, a survey has found.

The poll, done in Britain by parenting club Bounty, revealed the increasing trend for playing music during delivery.

It found that four out of five women said they listened to music during childbirth.

Hamilton midwife Miriam Evans said many of her clients had music playing during labour and often made compilations of songs that make them feel strong and had positive mes-sages.

"It's really individual. Women in labour are extremely sensitive to their environment so even smells or sounds can just be too much so it's what works for them."

Mrs Evans, who likes singing, said she had even "sung babies in before" with Irish ballad Come Me Own One.

The poll of 1030 mothers also found even though many women said they liked listening to music, 61 per cent could not actually remember which song their baby was born to.

Bach's Ave Maria was the only classical piece to make the top 10, along with the Beatles track Let it Be, the Circle of Life from the Lion King, I'm Every Woman by Chaka Khan and Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.

West Auckland mother-of-two Meg de Ronde said there was no time for music during the hospital birth of her first child so when it came time for the birth of her second baby she researched the effects of music on labour.

She put together two playlists for the home birth of her son, which took 36 hours, including a compilation of Bic Runga and Coldplay.

"It was very useful to help me relax to do some singing with my favourite songs. I know that sounds really dorky."

When the labour progressed she switched to the ambient Brian Eno, Music for Airports - soothing instrumental music she put on repeat.

"I think it was helpful to set the mood."

Celebrities also admit to music helping them during labour - the Duchess of Cambridge made a playlist which included Calvin Harris, Bruno Mars and Of Monsters and Men.

Mariah Carey celebrated the birth of twins Moroccan and Monroe by playing her hit We Belong Together.