Changes in Salivary Oxytocin Level of Term Pregnant Women after Aromatherapy Footbath for Spontaneous Labor Onset: A Non-Randomized Experimental Study

Yuriko Tadokoro (), Kaori Takahata, Takuya Shuo, Kazuyuki Shinohara and Shigeko Horiuchi
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Yuriko Tadokoro: Chiba Faculty of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, Funabashi 273-8710, Japan
Kaori Takahata: School of Nursing, Shonan Kamakura University of Medical Sciences, Kamakura 247-0066, Japan
Takuya Shuo: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Hokuriku University, Kanazawa 920-1180, Japan
Kazuyuki Shinohara: Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Shigeko Horiuchi: Women’s Health and Midwifery, School of Nursing Science, St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo 104-0044, Japan

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 13, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Aromatherapy is usually used to stimulate labor. However, its specific physiological effects have been scarcely examined. We evaluated whether an aromatherapy footbath increases oxytocin levels in term pregnant women. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, low-risk term pregnant women in Japan underwent aromatherapy using a footbath (1) infused with clary sage and lavender essential oils, (2) infused with jasmine oil, or (3) with no infused oils (control group). The primary outcome was the salivary oxytocin level. The secondary outcomes were uterine contractions and cortisol levels. Results: In the clary sage and lavender group ( n = 28), the oxytocin level increased significantly after the footbath ( p = 0.035). The jasmine group ( n = 27) and control group ( n = 27) exhibited trends toward a respective increase and decrease in the oxytocin level; however, the changes in the oxytocin levels between the clary sage and lavender group and the control group showed no significance difference. There were no significant differences in the changes in the uterine contractions and cortisol levels between the experiment and control groups. Conclusions: The changes in the oxytocin levels in the clary sage and lavender group did not differ significantly with those in the control group, possibly because of the small sample size. Further studies are required to examine the effects of repeated aromatherapy footbaths to stimulate labor.

Keywords: aromatherapy; salivary oxytocin; salivary cortisol; pregnant women; complementary and alternative medicine; clary sage essential oil; lavender essential oil; jasmine oil; footbath; stimulation of labor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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