THE EFFECT OF CALENDULA OINTMENT IN PAIN INTENSITY OF EPISIOTOMY AMONG PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN

Perineal pain affects mother’s quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the
effects of calendula ointment on pain relief of episiotomy wounds among primiparous women
admitted in Lolagar hospital of Tehran, 2010.
Materials & Methods: The study was carried out using a randomized control trial method; the
population included primiparous who had the inclusion criteria of the study. The study was conducted
on 74 primiparous women referring to Lolagar hospital in Tehran that were selected with random
allocation method. The case group consisted of 37 women that applied calendula ointment and the
control group of 37 women that used hospital’s routine care (povidone-iodine). Data were collected by
a questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Perineal pain intensity was evaluated using VAS
within 4 hours, 8 hours, and 5 days after intervention. The data were analyzed by chi-square, KruskalWallis one-way analysis, ANOVA, and t-test methods using SPSS software.
Result: The findings showed that there was no statistical difference in pain intensity score in two
groups before the intervention (p=0/731), 4 hours (p=0/351) and 8 hours (p= 0/143) after the
intervention. But there were statistical differences in pain intensity score five days after episiotomy
(p= 0.000).
Conclusion: Considering the results of this study, it seems that calendula ointment can be used in
episiotomy wound care instead of povidone-iodine solution.