Aromatherapy with Rosa damascena Mill. to Relieve the Symptoms of Postpartum Depression and Sleep Quality in Primiparous Women: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction

Postpartum depression can significantly impact mothers' health, quality of life, and child growth and development. The present study aims to determine the effectiveness of aromatherapy with Rosa damascena Mill. in relieving the symptoms of postpartum depression and improving sleep quality in primiparous women.

Methods

This study is a 1:1 randomised controlled trial. The study included 74 women aged 20–35 who had given birth and were admitted to the postnatal wards of hospitals in Babol City in 2020–2022. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to receive R damascena or distilled water (placebo) using permuted block randomisation. In both groups, depression and sleep quality were assessed 24 hours, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after delivery. Participants completed a demographic characteristics checklist, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Inventory, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Independent t-tests, chi-square, Fisher’s exact tests, and repeated measures statistical tests were used.

Results

The mean age of mothers was 26.82 ± 5.15 years. The mean scores of postpartum depression in the two groups at three-time points showed no significant difference. However, the depression scores decreased over time in both groups. In the analysis of overall sleep quality scores, the time irrespective of groups improved the sleep quality. However, the interaction was not significant. The group effect was not significant, and based on the partial eta square value (η²), there was a small effect (η² = 0.03).

Conclusions

A three-time assessment of postpartum depression and sleep quality revealed no significant difference between the aromatherapy and control groups.