Introduction: and purpose: Aromatherapy is a known popular method to reduce the symptoms of various physiologic processes and diseases. The aim of the study was to determine whether aromatherapy improves symptoms commonly experienced by women during the postpartum period.
Methods: In the present systematic review, four international databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched from inception of databases through August 2018. References for each study were manually reviewed to ensure that relevant works were included.
Results: Thirty-four (34) articles were identified with 17 studies meeting eligibility criteria and included a total of 1400 women using a variety of aromatherapies. Results demonstrated that aromatherapy can improve symptoms commonly experienced in post-partum period, including depression, stress, pain, anxiety, and fatigue.
Conclusion: There are therapeutic effects in use of aromatherapy during the post-partum period. Aromatherapy, however, should be used with caution as safety concerns have not been conclusively demonstrated.
Keywords: Aromatherapy; Essential oils; Post-partum symptoms; Systematic review.
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