Effect of Lavender Oil Aroma in the Early Hours of Postpartum Period on Maternal Pains, Fatigue, and Mood: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Busy care providers focus on the serious complications of postpartum period. This issue causes the seemingly trivial complications, such as mother’s pains, fatigue, and psychological status, to be less taken into account. The study aimed to determine the effect of lavender oil aroma in the early hours of postpartum period on maternal pains, fatigue, and mood in primiparous mothers.
This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 56 participants; 29 in intervention group and 27 in control group. The intervention group received lavender oil in three doses during the first 24 h after delivery. Sesame oil was used in the control group. Intensity of pain, fatigue, and distress level was measured by visual analog scale before and after the interventions. Besides, mood status was assessed through the positive and negative affect schedule.
The mean age of all the participants was 23.88 ± 3.88 years. After the first intervention and also in the tomorrow morning assessment, significant differences were found between the two groups regarding perineal pain (P = 0.004, P Lavender oil aromatherapy starting in the first hours of postpartum period resulted in better physical and mood status compared to nonaromatic group.