Effectiveness of Music and Meditation on Psychological Status of Pregnant Women in Lakhimpur District Assam
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Date
2024-04
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Avinashilingam
Abstract
Pregnancy involves drastic changes in both physiological and psychological states,
which significantly affect pregnancy outcomes, but only a few studies have discovered the
relationship between multiple psychological factors with music and meditation intervention.
The study‘s primary objective focuses on assessing the effectiveness of music and
meditation intervention on psychological status of pregnant women. The study also aims to
examine the socio-demographic profile of the pregnant women, construct and validate a
pregnancy psychological status scale, assess their psychological status and its dimensions
based on the socio-demographic variables, create music and meditation intervention
modules for pregnant women, and compare their effectiveness. In this quasi-experimental
study, 300 pregnant women in their first trimester were purposively selected from
government and private health centres in Assam‘s Lakhimpur District. Following stringent
inclusion and exclusion criteria, 120 pregnant women were chosen for the final intervention.
Starting in the second trimester and continuing until the eighth month (third trimester),
targeted music and meditation interventions were introduced to the selected pregnant
women, commencing in the fourth month of pregnancy. The pregnant women were
subjected to music (n=60) and meditation(n=60) intervention, further randomization was
done in the control (30 respondents) and experimental (30 respondents) groups for each
intervention module. The music and meditation experimental groups underwent 20 and 14
sessions respectively. Pre, mid and post-intervention data were collected and assessed using
a self-constructed Pregnancy Psychological Status Scale with 40 items. Statistical analyses
were employed, including independent t-tests, ANOVA, repeated measures ANOVA and
paired t-tests.
In the present study, a pregnant woman‘s psychological status is a representation of
her level of happiness, stress and anxiety, family relationships, socialization, physical
health, and body image. Pregnant women‘s psychological status was divided into three
categories: high, moderate, and low. High psychological status (scored between 121 and
160) means that the woman is happy, able to cope with stress and anxiety, has strong family
relationships, is better able to socialize, has good physical health and a positive body image.
Moderate psychological status, with a score ranging from 81 to 120. It indicates pregnant
women have average levels of happiness, average levels of stress and anxiety management,
average family relationships, moderate levels of socialization, average physical health, and
body image. Low psychological status (with a score ranging from 40 to 80). It indicates that
pregnant women are less happy, have trouble coping with stress and anxiety, have poor
socialization, poor family relationships, poor physical health, and have a negative body
image.
Findings revealed that the majority of respondents (45.00%) exhibited moderate
psychological status, followed by low (30.00%) and high (25.00%) psychological status,
with the younger age group (18-24 years) experiencing poorer psychological status than the
older group (25-40 years), supported by a t-value of 4.078 (p<0.01). Education levels also
played a significant role, with illiterate participants and postgraduates exhibiting significant
differences in psychological status (t-value 4.677, p<0.01). Higher monthly income
(55,001-80,000) was associated with a higher mean psychological status score (t-3.41,
p<0.05). Planned pregnancies showed a higher mean psychological status score than
unplanned pregnancies, supported by a t-value of 4.165 (p<0.01).
Additionally, the multivariate analysis of variance in the music intervention mean
profile plot showed that significantly improved psychological well-being in pregnant
women, particularly better in coping stress, family relationships, socialization, physical
health, and body image. On the other hand, the mean profile plot of meditation
demonstrated that it has significant impact on managing stress, family relationships,
physical health, body image, and overall psychological status in pregnant women. Despite
these improvements, the control group's mean value remains unchanged.
Based on the findings of comparison between the music and meditation
experimental group, the multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in
overall psychological status between trimesters (F=20.64, p<0.01, η2=0.420), indicating a
large effect size. The mean profile plot of the study revealed that music and meditation
interventions improve psychological status in the areas of happiness, coping stress &
anxiety, good physical health. Meanwhile meditation has a more significant effect on body
image and family connection dimensions in all trimesters.
The study advocates heightened attention from healthcare professionals, society, and
family members to recognize and address psychological well-being during pregnancy. It
recommends integrating meditation practices within Assam's healthcare centres, presenting
a transformative opportunity to enhance pregnant women's mental health and overall
lifestyle.
Keywords: Pregnant women, psychological status, music, meditation intervention,
trimesters
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Human Development