Study on aromatherapy for pain relief during labor

Many strategies for pain management during childbirth have been studied, including aromatherapy, a non-invasive alternative method to help control pain during labor. However, the results were inconsistent. Therefore, this study was conducted under Rajavadi Tanvisut et al. to determine the efficacy of aromatherapy for pain relief during childbirth.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted on Thai primiparous women with a low-risk singleton pregnancy who had a vaginal delivery. All participants, both study and control groups, received standard obstetric care. Aromatherapy was only offered to the study group during the first stage of labor. The women rated their pain intensity at different stages of labor using rating scales. The primary outcome was pain scores, the secondary outcomes were the need for pain medication, duration of labor, aromatherapy-related complications, birth path and Apgar scores.

A total of 104 women were recruited, 52 in each group. Baseline characteristics and pain scores were comparable. The median pain score in the latent and early active phase was lower in the aromatherapy group. The median differences in pain scores between the latent and early active phases and baseline scores were significantly lower in the aromatherapy group. There were no significant differences in late active phase and other perinatal outcomes.

Aromatherapy is helpful in relieving pain in the latent and early active phases and can probably be used as an adjuvant method of pain control during labor without serious side effects.