The effectiveness of roll-on aromatherapy of calamansi orange peel essential oil (Citrofortunella microcarpa) on reducing anxiety and pain in labor

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of calamansi orange peel aromatherapy in reducing pain and anxiety in the active first stage of labor. Patients and methods: This research is a quasi-experimental pre-posttest control group design. The number of samples was 60 people, 30 mothers for each intervention and control group. Samples were obtained by accidental sampling from 10 independent Privat Midwifery Clinics in Bengkulu and divided into 2 groups randomly. Pain level was assessed by VAS, and anxiety level was measured by HARS. Data were collected before the intervention (pre-test and after the intervention (post-test) 1 (dilatation 4), post-test 2 (dilatation 7-8 cm), and post-test 3 (dilatation 9-10). Meanwhile, the level of anxiety was only measured 2 times during the pre-test and post-test (dilatation 4). The results were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The results showed that in the intervention group, it was known that there was an effect of giving calamansi orange peel aromatherapy on pain (0.001) and anxiety (0.001) in mothers in the active phase of the first stage of labor. In the control group given orange aromatherapy, the results also showed an effect on pain (0.005) and anxiety (0.046). The results of the Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in post-test 1 (0.000) and post-test 2 (0.004), but there was no significant difference in post-test 3 (0.121). Meanwhile, for the level of anxiety, it is known that there is a difference between the intervention and control groups (0.042). Conclusion: Using aromatherapy of calamansi orange peel essential oil as a complementary therapy effectively reduces the level of pain and anxiety in mothers during the active phase of the first stage of labor.