Background/Objectives: Aromatherapy is widely used in midwifery, with pain relief during labour being a common objective. This umbrella review consolidates evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on its efficacy for this purpose. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, nine systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2011 and 2023 were included, encompassing 127 primary studies. Populations, interventions, comparators, and outcomes were systematically extracted, and methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR 2. Results: Lavender and rose were the most commonly used essential oils. Application methods included inhalation, massage, and bathing. Across reviews, aromatherapy showed statistically significant effects on labour pain reduction, particularly during the early stages of labour. However, high heterogeneity, low methodological quality of many reviews, and inconsistent reporting limit the overall strength of the evidence. No adverse effects were reported. Conclusions: The study results suggest that aromatherapy could be an effective, non-invasive intervention for labour pain. However, due to the low methodological quality of the studies and the correspondingly low strength of evidence, these results cannot yet be applied to the general population. This means that no general recommendation for use can be made at this time. Available reviews did not identify an increase in adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes, but safety monitoring and reporting were often limited by low review quality and inconsistent methods. Future high-quality randomized trials and evidence-based clinical guidelines are needed.
Breuninger et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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