effect of aromatherapy with essential damask rose oil on anxiety of the active phase of labor nulliparous women

effect of aromatherapy with essential damask rose oil on anxiety of the active phase of labor nulliparous women     kheirkhah m [1] ,setayesh valipour n* [2] ,neisani samani l [3] ,haghani h [4]     received: 4 may, 2013 accepted: 16 jul, 2013    abstract  background & aims : anxiety in women during labor is the most common emotional reactions and undesirable effects on the fetus and the mother. aromatherapy with a pleasant fragrance delivery can lead to improved birth outcomes .this study aimed to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy essential oils of damask rose oil on anxiety of the active phase of labor nulliparous women.  materials & methods : this randomized clinical trial was performed on 80 nulliparous women who were hospitalized in the maternity block of martyr akbar-abadi hospital for delivery. groups were divided using randomized assignment to intervention group (n=40) and control group (n=40). in the intervention group, inhalation and foot bath with rose oil was conducted for 10 minutes once at the beginning of the active phase and the second the beginning of the time of transition phase. anxiety was assessed during labor using visual analogous scale anxiety (vasa) onset of active phase and the second time onset of transitional phase before and after intervention.  results: baseline anxiety levels were similar in both groups. after intervention with essential rose oil, the intervention group showed decreased anxiety level comparing to the control group (p<0.001). anxiety score in the test group before and after intervention was significantly lower than controls (p<0.001).  conclusion: aroma therapy with essential rose oils in active phase of labor in nulliparous women can reduce anxiety, and it is efficient in desirable delivery, so it can be applied in all educational and health centers in all countries as a way to safe, functional, and low cost way run by midwives.  key words: aromatherapy, rose, active phase, nulliparous     address: tehran university, school of nursing and midwifery, tehran, iran   tel: (+98) 2161054124   email : [email protected]   [1] phd student of medical education and msc midwifery faculty member of tehran university of medical sciences ,school of nursing and midwifery, tehran, iran   [2] msc of midwifery, tehran university, school of nursing and midwifery ,tehran, iran (corresponding author)   [3] msc of midwifery, faculty member of tehran university of medical sciences ,school of nursing and   midwifery, tehran, iran   [4] student of ph.d of statistics, shaheed beheshti university of medical sciences