探討薰衣草芳香療法應用於剖腹產產婦降低焦慮之成效

The Effectiveness of Lavender Aromatherapy in Reducing Anxiety Among Women Undergoing Cesarean Section

背景及目的
剖腹產是產科最常見的外科手術之一，台灣剖腹產率高達38.4%，且約73.3%至86%的產婦於手術前經歷焦慮。過度焦慮與壓力可能增加麻醉併發症、術後鎮痛需求與恢復延遲，並影響哺乳。芳香療法透過氣味刺激大腦神經傳導路徑以調節情緒，其中薰衣草精油具抗焦慮及促進放鬆作用。本研究旨在探討薰衣草芳香療法降低剖腹產產婦焦慮之成效，期望提供天然、安全且非藥物性的臨床介入參考。
方法
以PICO設定關鍵字，搜尋中英文電子資料庫，符合納入條件之研究，並使用JBI評析工具進行文獻資料評價。
結果與討論
經由文獻篩選後，共收錄4篇隨機對照試驗文章，總參與剖腹產產婦人數為337位，研究採用的薰衣草芳香療法介入方式不一，包含貼片吸聞、氧氣面罩滴油吸入、棉球嗅聞，以及以紗布進行短時間嗅聞等，其結果顯示薰衣草芳香療法在部分研究中展現出緩解剖腹產婦焦慮的正向效果，但整體結果尚不一致。儘管如此，薰衣草精油作為非藥物、無侵入性之輔助療法，具有良好安全性與臨床可行性，未來建議建立標準化介入流程，並結合常規產後照護，以提升療效一致性。同時，仍需進一步進行樣本數充足、設計嚴謹且具長期追蹤的研究，以確認其對剖腹產婦焦慮緩解的效果，並作為臨床應用之依據。

Background and Purpose:
Cesarean section was one of the most common surgical procedures in obstetrics, with a cesarean delivery rate of 38.4% in Taiwan. Approximately 73.3% to 86% of women experienced preoperative anxiety. Excessive anxiety and stress were associated with an increased risk of anesthetic complications, greater postoperative analgesic requirements, delayed recovery, and impaired breastfeeding. Aromatherapy acted on the brain’s neural pathways through olfactory stimulation to regulate emotions, and lavender essential oil had been shown to exert anxiolytic and relaxation effects. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of lavender aromatherapy in reducing anxiety among women undergoing cesarean section, providing a natural, safe, and non-pharmacological intervention for clinical practice.
Methods:
Using a PICO framework, keywords were applied to search both Chinese and English electronic databases for eligible studies. The included literature was appraised using the JBI critical appraisal tool.
Results and Discussion:
A total of four randomized controlled trials involving 337 women who underwent cesarean section were included. The lavender aromatherapy interventions varied across studies, including patch inhalation, essential oil application to an oxygen mask, cotton ball inhalation, and brief inhalation using gauze. Findings showed that lavender aromatherapy demonstrated positive effects in reducing anxiety in some studies; however, the overall results were inconsistent. Despite this, lavender essential oil, as a nonpharmacological and non-invasive adjunct therapy, was safe and clinically feasible. Future studies were recommended to establish standardized intervention protocols and integrate aromatherapy into routine postpartum care to enhance consistency of therapeutic outcomes. Moreover, further research with adequate sample sizes, rigorous study designs, and long-term follow-up was needed to confirm its effectiveness in alleviating anxiety among women undergoing cesarean section and to provide stronger evidence for clinical application.