Effects of Complementary Therapies on Labor Pain: A Literature Review

Abstract

Context: Labor is among the most painful events in females’ lives. Labor pain (LP) is alleviated using both pharmacological and non - pharmacological methods. The current study aimed at reviewing clinical trials in Iran as well as other countries on the effects of acupressure, aromatherapy, and massage therapy on LP. Evidence Acquisition: In the current review study, online databases such as SID, Iranmedex, Magiran, IranDoc, Cochrane library, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched to retrieve studies published before 2017 in Persian or English language. Search keywords were labor pain, acupressure, aromatherapy, and massage as well as their Persian equivalents. Retrieved clinical trials were appraised using the Jadad checklist. Data were analyzed qualitatively. Results: In total, 46 clinical trials were enrolled. Most studies reported the positive effects of acupressure, aromatherapy, and massage therapy on labor pain. The most frequently used therapies were aromatherapy with lavender essential oil and acupressure on the LI4 and SP6 points. Conclusions: Acupressure, aromatherapy, and massage therapy were effective in alleviating labor pain. These techniques are mostly safe without serious side effects for parturient females and their babies. Therefore, they can be used to alleviate labor pain.