Effects of Aromatherapy on Childbirth

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Aromatherapy is a form of complementary medicine that uses scented materials known as essential oils for the purpose of affecting a person's health or mood. Although aromatherapy has been used in childbirth for centuries, there are no high-quality studies examining whether the treatment works.

Methodology

We would like to see if aromatherapy affects a woman's experience of childbirth by lowering associated anxiety and pain. Consenting participants will be randomly allocated to one of these groups:

1. Aromatherapy oils (e.g. clary sage, peppermint, lavender, frankincense)

2. Non-essential oil (baby oil)

3. Standard maternity care

We will gather primary data, e.g. if she's been in labour before and her awareness of complementary medicine. We will also conduct the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory with her, and provide her with the oil and swab if she is in groups 1 or 2 with instructions to keep the swab with the oil on it near to her. She can also put more oil on the swab as she requires.

Postnatally, data will be collected from her notes regarding pain relief used, duration of labour, augmentation of labour, and any other medical interventions of note. We will also complete the anxiety scale with her once more. Before her discharge we ask the mother for any comments regarding her experience of the labour. The results from all three cohorts will then be compared. There will also be opportunity for the midwife to make any comments regarding his/her perception of the participant's labour. Finally we will hold a focus group with midwives regarding the practicalities for implementation of aromatherapy in maternity care

Clinical Trial Description

n/a

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator), Primary Purpose: Health Services Research

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

Clinical Trial Details

NCT number	NCT01051726
Study type	Interventional
Source	University of Nottingham
Contact	Dawn-Marie Walker, BSc MSc PhD
Phone	+44 (0)115 82 30511
Email	dawn-marie.walker@nottingham.ac.uk
Status	Recruiting
Phase	Phase 2
Start date	January 2012
Completion date	July 2013

View Details

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