*3.3. Effect of Neroli Oil Aromatherapy on Pain Intensity*

The results showed that participants undergoing aromatherapy had lower perceived pain intensity than participants in the control group at all stages of labor (Table 2).

**Table 2.** Comparisons between experimental and control groups on pain intensity during the stages of labor.


Notes: *M* = mean; *SD* = standard deviation; *t* = Student's *t*-test; CI = confidence intervals; *d* = Cohen's d. \* *p* < 0.05; \*\* *p* < 0.01.

Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the main effect of the "Study Group" (experimental vs. control) was significant (*F* = 7.55, *p* = 0.01, *η* <sup>2</sup> = 0.32), indicating that there was an overall difference in the mean pain scores of the experimental group compared to those of the control group, with a large effect size. Similarly, the "Time" effect (i.e., the three phases of labor) was also significant and with a large effect size (*F* = 6.98, *p* = 0.003, *η* <sup>2</sup> = 0.30). On the contrary, no significant effect was found for the "Childbirth Group", indicating that the results obtained did not depend on being primiparas or multiparas.

Overall, as shown in Figure 2, as labor progressed, women in both groups perceived pain as getting stronger, but the increase was milder in the experimental group than in the control group.
