Efficacy of Music Therapy and Zingiber officinale Roscoe Aromatherapy for Reducing Pain during the First Stage of Labor: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To study the pain-reducing effect of music therapy and aromatherapy with ginger essential oil (GEO; Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in the first stage of labor. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted from May to October 2022 in the delivery room of Thammasat University Hospital in Thailand. Participants were nulliparous pregnant women who came with actual labor pain and cervical dilation of 3 cm. They were divided into three groups: control, music, and aromatherapy. The control group received intrapartum care according to hospital guidelines, while participants in the music group listened to a "Musical Journey through Pregnancy" music playlist, and the aromatherapy group inhaled GEO. A visual analog scale was used for pain assessment every 2 hours. Interventions and pain assessment continued until the end of the first stage of labor or until cesarean section was indicated. Results: Three hundred pregnant women were recruited. The mean age of the participants was 27.7 years old, and no difference in BMI among the three groups. Participants in the music and aromatherapy group had statistically significantly less labor pain than participants in the control group when cervical dilation was between 4 and 7 cm (6,1±0.7, 1.9±0.7, 2.6±0.4 when cervical dilation was 4-5 cm and 8.0±0.7, 2.8±0.4, 3.6±0.3 when cervical dilation was 6-7 cm in the control, music, and aromatherapy groups, respectively (p < 0.001). However, at cervical dilation of 8-10 cm, there was no difference among the three groups regarding labor pain. Both intervention groups had significantly shorter labor time and less estimated blood loss during vaginal delivery than the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Music and aromatherapy decreased labor pain, labor time, and estimated blood loss compared to the control group.