Tanvisut Rajavadi, Traisrisilp Kuntharee, Tongsong Theera
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2018 May;297(5):1145-1150. doi: 10.1007/s00404-018-4700-1. Epub 2018 Feb 3.
Many strategies for labor pain management have been studied, including aromatherapy, which is a noninvasive, alternative medicine used as an adjunct for labor pain control. Nevertheless, the results were contradictory. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the effectiveness of aromatherapy for reducing pain during labor.
A randomized controlled trial was carried out on Thai laboring primigravidae who were a low-risk singleton pregnancy undergoing vaginal delivery. All participants, both study and control group, received standard obstetric care. Aromatherapy was only provided to the study group during the first stage of labor. The women rated their pain intensity by rating scales at different stages of labor. The primary outcome was pain scores and the secondary outcomes were necessity of painkiller usage, labor time, aromatherapy-associated complications, route of delivery, and Apgar scores.
A total of 104 women were recruited, 52 in each group. Baseline characteristics and baseline pain scores were comparable. The median pain score of latent and early active phase was lower in the aromatherapy group, 5 vs 6 and 7 vs 8, respectively. The mean differences of pain scores between latent and early active phase and the baseline were significantly lower in the aromatherapy group, 1.88 vs 2.6 (p = 0.010) and 3.82 vs 4.39 (p = 0.031), respectively. Late active phase pain scores and other perinatal outcomes were not significantly different.
Aromatherapy is helpful in reducing pain in latent and early active phase, and can probably be used as an adjunctive method for labor pain control without serious side effects.
人们已经研究了许多分娩疼痛管理策略，包括芳香疗法，这是一种非侵入性的替代医学，用作分娩疼痛控制的辅助手段。然而，结果相互矛盾。因此，我们进行了这项研究，以确定芳香疗法在减轻分娩期间疼痛方面的有效性。
对泰国单胎初产妇进行了一项随机对照试验，这些产妇为低风险单胎妊娠，正在进行阴道分娩。所有参与者，包括研究组和对照组，均接受标准产科护理。芳香疗法仅在分娩第一阶段提供给研究组。产妇在分娩的不同阶段通过评分量表对疼痛强度进行评分。主要结局是疼痛评分，次要结局是使用止痛药的必要性、分娩时间、芳香疗法相关并发症、分娩方式和阿氏评分。
共招募了104名女性，每组52名。基线特征和基线疼痛评分具有可比性。芳香疗法组潜伏期和早期活跃期的中位疼痛评分较低，分别为5分对6分和7分对8分。芳香疗法组潜伏期和早期活跃期与基线之间疼痛评分的平均差异显著较低，分别为1.88对2.6（p = 0.010）和3.82对4.39（p = 0.031）。晚期活跃期疼痛评分和其他围产期结局无显著差异。
芳香疗法有助于减轻潜伏期和早期活跃期的疼痛，并且可能用作分娩疼痛控制的辅助方法，而无严重副作用。
