Browsing by Subject "sydämen sykevaihtelu"

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of music therapy in treating the anxiety and stress of pregnant women in inpatient care. The hypotheses were that music therapy would reduce both perceived and physiologically measured stress and anxiety and that women with high state anxiety would benefit more than women with normal state anxiety. It was also assumed that the benefits of music therapy would be greater if the amount of music therapy was greater. This study is a part of a research project of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Women's Hospital and Music Therapy Tonkraft in order to improve the methods of music therapy in supporting the well-being of stressed out pregnant women in inpatient care. Previous studies have demonstrated that pregnant women experience greater stress than average and that it is a significant health risk for the fetus. Music therapy in general has been proven to be efficient in reducing both stress and anxiety, but the benefits for pregnant women are only beginning to be acknowledged. The participants (n = 102) of this study were pregnant women in inpatient care because of pregnancy-related complications. Participants were divided into two groups: music therapy group (n = 52) and control group (n = 50). Music therapy group was given music therapy for half an hour three days in a row by a trained music therapist. The control group was instructed to rest. Perceived stress and anxiety levels were measured with self-report surveys in the beginning and in the end. Heart rate variability was measured to investigate physiological stress levels. In addition, the participants reported their experiences of the given music therapy. The results of this study reveal that stressed out pregnant women in inpatient care may benefit from music therapy. The participants' own reports of music therapy were almost entirely positive. Physiologically measured stress reduced during music therapy both in women with high state anxiety and in women with normal state anxiety. The perceived anxiety of women with high state anxiety reduced significantly during the intervention both in the music group and in the control group but in neither group more than in the other. No change was seen in the perceived anxiety of women with normal state anxiety. Music therapy also appeared to be more efficient than rest in reducing perceived stress both in women with high state anxiety and in women with normal state anxiety, although the change was not significant. The benefits of music therapy were not greater when the amount of music therapy was greater. The results of this study encourage to use music therapy in treatment of stressed out, pregnant women in inpatient care. The results also suggest more research of this subject.