THE EFFECT OF CALENDULA OINTMENT IN PAIN INTENSITY OF EPISIOTOMY AMONG PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN

Perineal pain affects mother’s quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the effects of calendula ointment on pain relief of episiotomy wounds among primiparous women admitted in Lolagar hospital of Tehran, 2010. The study was carried out using a randomized control trial method; the population included primiparous who had the inclusion criteria of the study. The study was conducted on 74 primiparous women referring to Lolagar hospital in Tehran that were selected with random allocation method. The case group consisted of 37 women that applied calendula ointment and the control group of 37 women that used hospital’s routine care (povidone-iodine). Data were collected by a questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Perineal pain intensity was evaluated using VAS within 4 hours, 8 hours, and 5 days after intervention. The data were analyzed by chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis, ANOVA, and t-test methods using SPSS software. The findings showed that there was no statistical difference in pain intensity score in two groups before the intervention (p=0/731), 4 hours (p=0/351) and 8 hours (p= 0/143) after the intervention. But there were statistical differences in pain intensity score five days after episiotomy (p= 0.000). Considering the results of this study, it seems that calendula ointment can be used in episiotomy wound care instead of povidone-iodine solution.