Effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of clove on intensity of episiotomy pain in women: randomized clinical trial

One of the surgical interventions in the process of natural vaginal delivery is episiotomy. Episiotomy pain is a stressful problem for mothers at postpartum. Nowadays, more attention has been paid to the use of pain reduction techniques in traditional medicine such as clove extract. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to evaluate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of clove buds on the severity of episiotomy pain in normal vaginal delivery.

This triple-blind clinical trial study was performed on 80 mothers who had delivery in the hospitals of Ferdows, Gonabad and Mashhad in 2019. The subjects were divided into two groups of intervention and placebo using randomized blockade. The intervention group received clove extract and the placebo group received distilled water. The two groups received the solutions twice a day for 10 days after delivery. Demographic and midwifery checklists and pain visual standardized tool and McGill tool were used for data collection. Pain severity was measured in several stages (before intervention, on day 4 and day 10 after delivery). Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 22) and paired t and Chi-square tests. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

There was no statistically significant difference in pain severity between the two groups before the intervention (p = 0.77). There was significant difference in pain severity between the two groups at day 4 (p = 0.00) and 10 (p = 0.00) after delivery.

The use of clove extract reduces the severity of episiotomy ulcer pain after delivery. Therefore, it is recommended to use it for pain relief after episiotomy.