A Review of Randomized Clinical Trials on the Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender on Labor Pain Relief

Childbirth is one of the most painful phenomena that women will tolerate in their lifetime. Labor pain is recognized as one of the most severe human pain [1,2].Severe pain associated to vaginal delivery can cause abnormal uterine action during labor which might lead to increased medical interventions such as caesarian section (C/S) [3]. According to world health report, the rate of C/S in Iran is too high [4] and up to 60% of Iranian women are interested in C/S to endure less pain during childbirth [5]. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the risk of maternal death after a C/S is five times more than normal vaginal delivery [6], yet suffering severe labor pain during vaginal delivery may affect women’s decision on the mode of delivery in their future pregnancies.