Effects of Aromatherapy on Childbirth: a pragmatic preference trial

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI

DECLARATIONII

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION1

1.1SCIENCE OF GRAVIDITY(PREGNANCY)1

1.1.1Childbirth and its stages2

1.1.1 Natural Childbirth (Birth without routine medical interventions)3

1.1.2 Medications in childbirth4

1.1.3. The First Stage of child birth5

1.1.4. The second Stage of child birth7

1.1.5. The third stage of child birth10

1.1.2 Pain and Anxiety10

1.1.3. Anxiety12

1.1.4. Coping style13

1.1.5. Usual care14

1.1.6 Pain relief used in childbirth15

1.1.6.1 The Epidural16

1.1.6.2 Narcotic Analgesics18

1.1.7 Non pharmacologic methods of pain relief18

1.1.8 Psychosomatic19

1.2COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINES21

1.2.1 History of CAM in NHS (an overview)25

1.2.2 Prevalence of practice in the NHS midwifery25

1.2.3 Acupuncture26

1.2.4 Reflexology27

1.2.5 Shiatsu28

1.2.6 Hypnosis29

1.2.7 Contemporary Medicines30

1.2.8 Therapeutic touch31

1.2.9 Placebo effect32

1.2.9.1 Importance of placebo effects33

1.2.10 Criticism to CAM34

1.2.11 Issues in conducting research in CM35

1.3 AROMATHERAPY38

1.3.1 Aromatherapy training for midwifes38

1.3.2 Aromatherapy39

1.3.3 Complementary therapies in midwifery40

1.3.4 Benefits of Aromatherapy42

1.3.5 How essential oils work42

1.3.6 Aromatherapy in Labour45

1.3.7 Aromatherapy and Anxiety47

1.3.8 Critical Appraisal of studies47

1.3.9 Essential oil used in pain49

1.3.9.1 Chamomile49

1.3.9.2 Lavender49

1.3.9.3 Sandalwood50

1.3.9.4 Sweet Marjoram50

1.3.9.5 Rose50

1.3.10 Essential Oil Used in Anxiety50

1.3.10.1 Vetiver51

1.3.10.2 Lavender51

1.3.11 Essential Oil used in Labour51

1.3.12 Summary53

1.4 Significance of the study55

1.5 Hypothesis56

1.6 Aims and Objectives56

REFERENCES58

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1: All three stages of child birth………………………………………………………...…6

Figure 2: Second Stage of Child Birth …………………………………………………………..8

Figure 3: Third Stage of Child Birth ……………………………………………………………10

Figure 4: Aromatherapy and olfactory responses ……………………………………………….38

Figure 1 (a): Stages of labour …………………………………………………………..………9

Table 1: Essential oils used in NHS and its contraindications ………………………………….40

Table: 2: Aromatherapy for anxiety reduction and for increase in well being ………………….44 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

SCIENCE OF Gravidity(Pregnancy)

The term gravidity, gestation or pregnancy is a state of a female after conception until the child's birth. This condition is about having a developing fetus or embryo in the body after the union of a spermatozoa or ovum. This kind of union places the beginning of pregnancy after fertilization (but not at the point of uterine implantation) (Keith, Moore, & Persaud, 2008). In medical terms, Gravidity is the number of times a woman becomes pregnant regardless of the fact that these pregnancies gets interrupted by either fetal death or abortion or results in live birth. This is a period during which a developing fetus is carried within the uterus. In humans the pregnancy averages 38 weeks or 266 days from conception to childbirth. Conventionally, the duration of pregnancy is counted from the last menstrual period of women which roughly adds to 2 weeks of gestational age. The period of pregnancy offers tremendous emotional and ...