Juthaporn Sujitrom¹, Densak Pongrojpaw¹, Athita Chanthasenanont¹, Sawanya Benchahong¹, Junya Pattaraarchachai², Komsun Suwannarurk¹

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of aromatherapy using lavender and chamomile essential oils, to alleviate pain and reduce anxiety during the amniocentesis procedure in second trimester pregnancy.

Materials and Methods: The present was a randomized controlled trial approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Thammasat University (MTU-EC-OB-1-023/66) and registered in the Thai Clinical Trials Registry on June 29, 2023 (TCTR20230629001). The present study was conducted at the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Unit, Thammasat University Hospital, Pathum Thani, Thailand between July and November 2023. The participants were pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis. Participants were randomly assigned into three groups, lavender, chamomile, and normal saline, which was the control group. Participants in each group were instructed to inhale the assigned scent, lavender, chamomile, or normal saline, for 15 minutes prior to the amniocentesis procedure. For each participant, a cotton swab containing four drops of the assigned scent was held 10 centimeters from the participant’s nose. Pain and anxiety were recorded using visual analog scale (VAS) and visual facial anxiety scale (VFAS). Expected pain and anxiety were recorded before amniocentesis (Te), immediate after procedure (T0), and at 15 and 30 minutes after the procedure (T15 and T30).

Results: One hundred fifty participants were allocated into three groups. To ensure comparability, demographic characteristics were matched across the three groups. The present study revealed that both lavender and chamomile lowered pain more than the control at 15 minutes after amniocentesis (T15), and only lavender can reduce pain during the procedure (T0). Both lavender and chamomile reduced anxiety more than the control 15 minutes after amniocentesis (T15), and only chamomile continued to reduce anxiety 30 minutes post procedure (T30). Thus, lavender proved to be more effective in managing pain during the amniocentesis procedure, whereas chamomile offers a prolonged effect in reducing anxiety, lasting up to 30 minutes post-procedure.

Conclusion: Aromatherapy effectively reduces pain and anxiety associated with amniocentesis. In the present study. Both lavender and chamomile reduced pain at 15 minutes after the procedure, but only lavender has efficacy in pain reduction during the procedure. Both lavender and chamomile reduced anxiety 15 minutes after the procedure, but only chamomile continued to reduce anxiety 30 minutes post procedure. However, when comparing lavender and chamomile, there was no statistically significant difference in efficacy of pain or anxiety reduction.

Received 15 July 2024 | Revised 9 October 2024 | Accepted 9 October 2024

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2024.12.956-962-01350