Narges Abdollahi Senu, Roshanak Salari, Vahid Ghavami, Kobra Mirzakhani
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment often experience a lot of stress during treatment cycles. One of the interventions in the field of stress reduction is aromatherapy. Lemon balm is a plant with antistress and antidepressant effects, but its effect on the perceived stress of infertile women has not been studied.
Objective: Determining the effect of inhaled aromatherapy with lemon balm essential oil on perceived stress in infertile women undergoing IVF treatment.
Materials and methods: The present study was a randomized clinical trial with a pretest/posttest design. A total of 86 infertile women who referred to the Milad Infertility Center in Imam Reza hospital, Mashhad, Iran from July-October 2024 were selected using a convenient sampling method. Women were divided into 2 intervention and control groups using a 4-way random block method. The intervention group received inhaled aromatherapy with lemon balm essential oil for 2 wk, twice a day, in the morning and at night. The control group also received a placebo. The research tools included demographic questionnaires and the fertility-problem inventory. The participants' stress levels were measured with fertility-problem inventory, and both groups completed questionnaires before and after the intervention.
Results: Before the intervention, no significant difference was observed in the perceived stress variable between the intervention and control groups (p = 0.112), but after the intervention, a statistically significant difference was observed between the 2 groups (p 0.001).
Conclusion: The effect of aromatherapy with lemon balm essential oil reduces perceived stress in infertile women undergoing IVF treatment.
期刊介绍：
The International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine (IJRM), formerly published as "Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine (ISSN: 1680-6433)", is an international monthly scientific journal for who treat and investigate problems of infertility and human reproductive disorders. This journal accepts Original Papers, Review Articles, Short Communications, Case Reports, Photo Clinics, and Letters to the Editor in the fields of fertility and infertility, ethical and social issues of assisted reproductive technologies, cellular and molecular biology of reproduction including the development of gametes and early embryos, assisted reproductive technologies in model system and in a clinical environment, reproductive endocrinology, andrology, epidemiology, pathology, genetics, oncology, surgery, psychology, and physiology. Emerging topics including cloning and stem cells are encouraged.
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