SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Innovations for Enhancing Newborn and Maternal Well-BeingView all 9 articles
The Effects of Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Sleep Quality in Maternal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China
- 2Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
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Objective: This study aims to conduct a systematic review of the efficacy of aromatherapy in treating maternal anxiety and improving sleep quality during pregnancy and postpartum, thereby providing scientific evidence for clinical practice. Methods: We searched databases including PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase from their inception to October 2025, identifying 13 eligible studies. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 15.0. Results: Aromatherapy improved anxiety levels (SMD = -0.4, 95% CI (-0.68, -0.14), p = 0.002, I² = 63.8) and enhanced sleep quality (SMD = -0.59, 95% CI (-0.98, -0.21), p = 0.002, I² = 88.7). Subgroup analysis revealed that prenatal aromatherapy effectively reduced anxiety (SMD = -0.75, 95% CI (-0.97, -0.52), p = 0.000, I² = 0) and improve sleep quality (SMD = -1.18, 95% CI (-2.08, -0.29), p = 0.000, I² = 90.6). Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates the positive effects of aromatherapy in improving maternal anxiety and sleep quality, and identifies effective intervention phases. However, due to the limited number of included studies, future research should incorporate more high-quality studies to further consolidate and validate the reliability of these findings.
Keywords: Aromatherapy, Anxiety, sleep quality, Mothers, Meta-analysis
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 14 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Mao, Zeng, Chen, Feng and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lunxin Chen, lunxin_chen@163.com
Zhiyong Feng, 529922872@qq.com
Weiguo Liu, liuwg@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn
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