The Effects of Inhalation Aromatherapy with Boswellia carterii Essential Oil on the Intensity of Labor Pain among Nulliparous Women

Background: Labor pain is a major reason behind preferring cesarean sectionover normal vaginal delivery. Aromatherapy is among the most commonnonpharmacological therapies for pain. Objectives: The objective of thisstudy aimed to evaluate the effects of inhalation aromatherapy with Boswelliacarterii (BC) essential oil on the intensity of labor pain among nulliparous women.Methods: This randomized controlled trial was carried out on 126 nulliparouswomen. Women were randomly allocated to an aromatherapy (n = 63) and aplacebo (n = 63) group. For each woman in the aromatherapy group, a piece ofgauze was soaked with 0.2 ml of 0.2% BC essential oil diluted in 2 ml of normalsaline, and then, it was attached to the collar of each woman. The intervention wasrepeated for each woman every 30 min up to a cervical dilation of 10 cm. Theintervention in the placebo group was the same as the aromatherapy group exceptthat the gauze was soaked only with 2 ml of normal saline. A numeric pain ratingscale was used to assess the labor pain intensity before the intervention and atcervical dilations of 3–4, 5–7, and 8–10 cm. Statistical analyses were performedusing descriptive and inferential statistics such as the Chi‑square, the independentsample t‑test, and paired t‑test. Results: Between‑group comparisons revealed thatlabor pain intensity in the aromatherapy group was significantly lower than thecontrol group at cervical dilations of 3–4 (4.98 ± 0.93 vs. 6.68 ± 1.28, P 0.001),5–7 (5.79 ± 1.13 vs. 7.23 ± 1.54, 0.001), and 8–10 cm (6.35 ± 1.63 vs. 7.71 ± 1.38,P 0.05). However, there were no significant between‑group differences regarding1 and 5 min Apgar scores (P 0.05). Conclusion: Inhalation aromatherapy withBC essential oil has positive effects on labor pain. Therefore, it can be used forrelieving labor pain in the first stage of labor.