Effect of aromatherapy massage by orange essential oil on post-cesarean anxiety: a randomized clinical trial

Objectives: Many women in recent years have been willing to undergo puncture surgery for childbirth, which, like other surgeries, has physical and psychological side effects such as incision, infertility, chronic pain, and anxiety. Therefore, it is important to reduce and improve these side effects. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of foot massage with orange essential oil on anxiety in women undergoing cesarean section.

Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted in 2019 on 80 women referred to Bahar Shahroud Hospital after cesarean section surgery. The samples were divided into two groups by intervention (foot massage with orange essential oil) and control (foot massage without orange essential oil). The Spielberger scale was used to determine anxiety scores after cesarean section. In the intervention group, the feet were massaged with orange essential oil, and in the control group, the orange essential oil massage was performed without oil. Anxiety before, immediately after, and 60 min after the intervention was measured and evaluated in both groups. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Significant levels were considered for all statistical tests (p<0.05).

Results: The anxiety score before the intervention in the two groups of intervention and control was 57.12 ± 3.12 and 57.07 ± 3.54, respectively, which were not significantly different, but immediately after the intervention, the anxiety scores in both groups decreased significantly so that there was a further decrease in the intervention group (52.10 ± 4.75 and 56.02 ± 3.77), 1 h after the intervention, the anxiety score in the intervention group decreased compared to the previous stage and increased in the control group (50.40 ± 3.74 and 56.85 ± 4.27).

Conclusions: Foot massage with orange essential oil can probably be effective as a proper nursing intervention in reducing anxiety after cesarean section surgery.