Healing Sounds for Pregnant Women: Sape' Dayak Music and Anxiety Reduction

Pregnancy is a wonderful experience, but it can also be a source of anxiety for many women owing to hormonal changes, body changes, and the prospect of motherhood. This anxiety is not just uncomfortable; it can have a substantial influence on both the mother's and the baby's health. Recognizing this, experts are increasingly turning at non-medical approaches to aid, and music therapy is gaining popularity due to its low side effects. Music has long been used for relaxation in various cultures, and it has been shown to have an effect on our physiology, including hormone release. This study will look specifically at the possibility of the Sape' Dayak, a traditional Indonesian instrument, as a therapeutic tool. The Sape' is noted for its relaxing properties and has a significant cultural value for the Dayak people. It is frequently utilized in healing rituals and community activities. While its cultural significance is evident, its specific benefit in relieving anxiety in pregnant women has not been extensively researched. The primary purpose of this study is to address that research gap. The study is seeking to determine whether listening to Sape' Dayak music may reduce anxiety levels in pregnant mothers as effectively as traditional lullabies. The study intends to encourage holistic health practices while also contributing to the preservation of cultural heritage. The study is designed as a quasi-experiment, with a control group. Researchers will recruit 32 pregnant women in the third trimester (28-40 weeks) from midwifery clinics. Participants require to be at least 18 years old, have poor sleep quality (a PSQI score of 5 or above). They will be eliminated if they are more than 40 weeks pregnant, have a mental disorder that affects their view of reality, or are carrying twins. The 32 respondents will be split into two groups of sixteen each. One group, the intervention group (IG), will listen traditional Sape' Dayak music. The control group (CG) will listen to Brahms' Lullaby. Participants in both groups will be told to lightly massage their abdomens and visualize their infants while listening to music through earbuds for 20 minutes a day for three days straight. The music sessions will be held in the participants' homes to ensure privacy and comfort, with doors and windows closed. Anxiety levels will be measured using the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) both before (pre-test) and after the music intervention. The PASS is a solid and useful measure for identifying anxiety symptoms unique to perinatal women. The PASS scores assist characterize anxiety as little, mild-moderate, or severe. The acquired data will be examined using statistical software to assess anxiety levels across and within groups.