HCG is a national competition for midwifery students, open to participants from both state and private universities across Indonesia. The UNS team, composed of Rona Arrafi, Shufi Arofiqandil, and Anisa Yusri Ramadhani—fifth-semester students from the S-1 Midwifery Program—clinched the second-place victory.

Rona Arrafi, the team leader, explained that the 2024 HCG competition featured two sub-themes: “The Importance of Optimal Nutrition During the First 1.000 Days of Life” and “Anxiety in Pregnant Women and Its Impact on Fetal Development.”

“Our team chose the second sub-theme because it has received less attention compared to the first one. In addition, anxiety levels among pregnant women in Indonesia are relatively high, making it essential to provide educational materials to raise awareness about this issue,” Rona explained in an interview with fk.uns.ac.id on Wednesday (23/10/2024).

The public poster created by the three students covered a wide range of information, including the definition, prevalence, causes, and impacts of anxiety on the fetus. The poster also offered a solution to help manage anxiety in pregnant women through “Perfect Exercise,” with an accompanying QR code linked to demonstration videos of the recommended movements.

“This feature was one of the key strengths of our team that helped us secure second place,” Rona added. Their concept aligns with sustainable development goals, particularly those focused on achieving healthy and well-being outcomes through practical and easily implementable health solutions.

Despite their busy schedules with coursework, the students made time to prepare for the competition.

“We began preparing for the first round about a month in advance, starting at the end of August. For the final round, we had about a week to get ready,” Rona shared.

The team noted that participating in a national-level competition provided them with numerous benefits. Beyond gaining valuable experience in competing, they had the opportunity to exchange knowledge with students from other universities.

“We had a close competition with Universitas Brawijaya, whose midwifery program is also at the undergraduate level. We shared information about our studies and other academic matters,” Shufi Arofiqandil added.

They expressed hope that more students from FK UNS would be inspired to participate in national competitions and achieve success that would bring pride to their faculty.

“Don’t be afraid to try. It’s better to try and fail than not to try at all. We also just gave it a shot—we didn’t know we would make it to the finals in Surabaya. Just give it a try, and if you fail, try again,” Shufi concluded. Humas UNS

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The winners, Yesika Cahya Septiana and Nanda Shevira, are fifth-semester students in the Bachelor’s Program in Midwifery at FK UNS. Their essay addressed the theme of anxiety in pregnant women, offering a unique approach to managing this issue.

“Our essay is titled JOURNEY: Non-Pharmacological Therapy to Reduce Anxiety During Pregnancy. We developed an innovation called JOURNEY, which stands for Journal Therapy to Reduce Antenatal Anxiety,” Yesika explained on Wednesday (9/10/2024).

The innovation centers around using a journal for expectant mothers to document their daily emotions and experiences. By expressing their feelings in writing, the technique—known as “expressive writing”—aims to alleviate anxiety in pregnant women.

Nanda Shevira added that their essay stood out due to its practical application. “Many competitors presented only ideas, while we emphasized the innovation itself, even creating a prototype. This, along with some initial testing on respondents, convinced the judges,” Nanda shared.

Despite their busy class schedules, the students found time to prepare for the competition. “Our preparation was flexible; we worked on it outside of class hours, dividing tasks as needed,” Nanda said. Yesika agreed, noting that teamwork and task delegation were essential.

Yesika confirmed this, emphasizing that as a team, task distribution is essential and must be managed effectively. In preparing for the competition, they received guidance from Noviyati Rahardjo Putri, S.SiT., M.Tr.Keb., a lecturer in the Midwifery Bachelor’s Program at FK UNS. “Yes, Ms. Novi (Noviyati Rahardjo Putri, S.SiT., M.Tr.Keb.) served as our mentor,” Yesika shared.

Their advice to students interested in essay competitions is to keep honing their skills by researching various references and exploring new potential without fear.

Humas UNS

Editor: Dwi Hastuti

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