The effect of aromatherapy applied to pregnant women on sleep quality and fatigue level

The research was conducted as a pretest-posttest randomized controlled intervention study to determine the effect of aromatherapy applied to pregnant women via inhalation on sleep quality and fatigue. The research was conducted in the gynecology and obstetrics outpatient clinics of a training and research hospital in Adana between October 2022 and March 2023.The sample of the study consisted of a total of 74 pregnant women, 37 experimental and 37 control, who applied to the gynecology clinic between the specified dates and met the sample criteria. Aromatherapy with lavender oil was applied to the pregnant women in the experimental group for 1 month using the "Inhalation Application Form". "Personal Information Form", "Visual Analog Scale (VAS)", "Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)" and "Visual Similarity Scale for Fatigue (VSSP)" 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. In the study, the post-test PSQI score average of the pregnant women in the experimental group who received lavender oil inhalation was 4.10±1.36; It was found that the weight of pregnant women in the control group was 5.45±2.48. The mean post-test VAS score of the pregnant women in the experimental group was 5.89±0.88; It was found that the weight of pregnant women in the control group was 7.70±10.79. The mean post-test fatigue score of the pregnant women in the experimental group was 65.91±7.02; It was found that the age of pregnant women in the control group was 75.40±1.24. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the post-test PSQI, VAS,VSSP total score averages of the pregnant women in the experimental and control groups (p <0.05). As a result of the study, it was determined that aromatherapy applied to pregnant women through inhalation improved sleep quality and reduced fatigue level. According to this result, the use of aromatherapy with lavender oil can be recommended to improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue level in pregnant women in the last trimester.