The effect of aromatherapy applied to pregnant women on sleep quality and fatigue level: A randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Sleep disturbances and fatigue can negatively impact pregnancy. The purpose of this study is to assess changes in sleep quality and fatigue levels pre- and post-aromatherapy intervention using lavender oil inhalation in pregnant women in the third trimester. Materials and methods: The research was conducted in the gynecology and obstetrics outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital between October 2022 and March 2023. The study was designed as a randomized controlled experimental trial with a pretest-posttest control group. The sample consisted of a total of 74 pregnant women (37 intervention and 37 control). Aromatherapy with lavender oil was applied to pregnant women in the intervention group for one month using the "Inhalation Application Form." "Personal Information Form", "Visual Analog Scale (VAS)", "Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)" and " Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue (VASF)" were used to collect data. Percentage distributions, chi-square significance test, t-test in independent groups, and Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used to evaluate the data. Results: In the study, the post-test PSQI score average of the pregnant women in the intervention group who received lavender oil inhalation was 4.10 +/- 1.36, it was 5.45 +/- 2.48 in the control group. The post-test fatigue score average of the pregnant women in the intervention group was 65.91 +/- 7.02, it was 75.40 +/- 10.79 in the control group. A statistically significant difference was found between the post-test PSQI and VAS-F total score averages of the pregnant women in the intervention and control groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study findings indicate that aromatherapy applied via inhalation to pregnant women improved sleep quality and reduced fatigue levels. According to these findings, lavender oil aromatherapy can be recommended to improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue levels in pregnant women during the third trimester.