The Effect of Oral Capsules of Saffron on Anxiety and Fatigue During the First Stage of Labor

Anxiety is a common emotional response in women during labor that may cause a prolonged labor and fatigue for the mother. Many steps have recently been taken to reduce the anxiety during labor which tend to utilize herbal medicine, therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of saffron oral capsules on anxiety and Fatigue during the first stage of labor.

This triple blind clinical trial was accomplished on 60 women who were candidate for normal vaginal delivery in 17 sharivar hospital in Mashhad in 2014. The study participants were selected via convenience sampling and then divided into two groups of intervention (250 mg saffron capsules) and control (placebo). Fatigue and anxiety were measured at the beginning of the study and then every two hours until the end of the active phase of labor via a visual analog scale. The study data were analyzed by chi-square test, independent T-test, Mann-Whitney and multivariate via SPSS software version 11/5(p value of less than 0/05 was considered significant).

Mean anxiety score of saffron group was 26/4±16/9, whereas it was 46/5±18/8 in the placebo group and thus, a significant difference was observed between the two groups (P= 0.001). The mean fatigue score in the Saffron group (57/7±20/9) was significantly lower (P=0.004) than that of the placebo group (73/8 ± 21/4).

The study findings revealed that saffron can be prescribed in order to reduce maternal anxiety and fatigue.