The Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender essential oil on the Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women in the Third Trimester

Introduction: Sleep disturbance during pregnancy is quite common, it threatens the health of the mother and fetus during pregnancy. Non-pharmacological therapies are preferred for improving the sleep pattern of pregnant women with sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of lavender essential oil on the quality of sleep in pregnant women. Methods: This study was performed by quasi-experimental method using pre-test-post-test design with control group. The sample size was 30 people, who were selected by available sampling method. The sample group was selected from pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy who referred to Kerman health centers. The selected individuals had diagnostic criteria for sleep disorder during pregnancy based on the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The selected individuals were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. During the study, the experimental group began taking lavender essential oil for 3 consecutive nights a week. The Pizzberg Sleep Quality Questionnaire (PSQ) was used in two stages before the intervention and after one month to evaluate the quality of sleep. Spss software and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance analysis (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. Results: The results of the one-way analysis of variance test for the intervention group showed that the quality of sleep quality in the post-test was significantly higher than the pre-test (P <0.001). Also, a comparison of sleep quality scores in the postoperative intervention and control group by analysis of covariance showed that sleep quality scores in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (P <0.001), and aromatherapy with lavender essential oil was 59%. Explains changes in sleep quality scores. Conclusion: Given the positive effect of aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on the quality of sleep of pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy, it can be said that this intervention is useful for reducing the negative symptoms affecting the quality of sleep of pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy. According to the findings of this study, aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on the quality of sleep of pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy is effective on the experience of higher quality sleep and paying attention to its training in medical centers for women with wind can reduce womenchr('39')s vulnerability in this period. .