Effectiveness of aromatherapy with sweet orange oil (Citrus sinensis L.) in relieving pain and anxiety during labor.

Introduction: Need to improve the quality of vaginal birth in a humanized and non-invasive way, contributing to pain and anxiety during labor. Integrative and complementary practices, such as aromatherapy, have been an important tool for managing natural birth. To evaluate the effects of Citrus sinensis L. aroma on pain and anxiety during labor.

Methods: Single-blind randomized clinical trial with pregnant women was performed in a city of Brazilian northwest. The pregnant women were divided (n=42/group) into an experimental group (inhalation of 250 μL of C. sinensis essential oil) and a placebo group (250 μL of distilled water), and submitted to the evaluation of pain intensity through Visual Analogic Scale, anxiety (STAI-E), physiological parameters, as well as fetal heart rate.

Results: Aromatherapy significantly reduced pain intensity over time (p=0.0411), especially for pregnant women in stage 1 dilatation and primiparous (p=0.0022). In addition, essential oil inhalation also reduced anxiety (p<0.0001), showing significant positive correlations (r=0.3147; p=0.3129) with pain intensity. Exposure to the aroma of sweet orange also reduced mean blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate of pregnant women and fetal heart rate (p<0.0001).

Discussion: The active compounds present in the essential oil used, especially limonene, are capable of modulating neurotransmission systems associated with pain and anxiety, being effective in reducing these symptoms during labor.

Conclusion: It was shown that C. sinensis essential oil reduces pain and anxiety during labor, indicating the potential of this type of intervention and its possible applicability in good labor practices.