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The effect of ylang oil and lemon oil inhalation on labor pain and anxiety pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial.

  • 2023-08
  • Complementary therapies in clinical practice 52
    • Ilknur Sirkeci
    • Ozlem Cagan
    • Sevgi Koc

Study Design

Type
Review
Sample size
n = 15
Population
45 primiparous pregnant women
Methods
randomized controlled trial, sealed envelope method, lemon oil group (n=15), ylang-ylang oil group (n=15), control group (n=15)
Blinding
Open-label
Funding
Unclear

Background

and purpose: To date, there has been very limited experimental research on the impact of ylang ylang oil and lemon oil inhalation labor pain. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of aromatherapy, one of the non-pharmacological pain methods, on anxiety and labor pain in the active phase in primiparous pregnant women.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial design was used in the study, which was conducted with 45 primiparous pregnant women. Volunteers were randomized into the lemon oil group (n = 15), ylang-ylang oil group (n = 15), and control group (n = 15) by using the sealed envelope method. The visual analog scale (VAS) and the state anxiety inventory were applied to the intervention and control groups before the application. After the application, the VAS and the state anxiety inventory were applied at 5-7 cm dilatation and the VAS was applied alone at 8-10 cm dilatation. The trait anxiety inventory was applied to the volunteers after delivery.

Results

The mean pain scores at 5-7 cm dilatation in the intervention groups (lemon oil 6.90, ylang ylang oil, 7.30) were significantly lower than in the control group (9.20) (p = 0.005). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their mean pre-intervention and 5-7-cm-dilatation anxiety scores (p = 0.750; p = 0.663), mean trait anxiety scores (p = 0.094), and mean first-and fifth-minute Apgar scores (p = 0.051; p = 0.051).

Conclusion

It was found that aromatherapy applied by inhalation at labor reduced the perception of labor pain but had no effect on anxiety.

Research Insights

  • Lemon→Reduced Anxiety

    There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their mean pre-intervention and 5-7-cm-dilatation anxiety scores (p = 0.750; p = 0.663)

    Effect
    Neutral
    Effect size
    Small
  • Lemon→Reduced Labor Pain

    The mean pain scores at 5-7 cm dilatation in the intervention groups (lemon oil 6.90, ylang ylang oil, 7.30) were significantly lower than in the control group (9.20) (p = 0.005).

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Large
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