Ibuprofen Versus Fennel for the Relief of Postpartum Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to compare the value of ibuprofen and fennel for postpartum pain
relief in women with normal vaginal delivery.
Materials and methods:In this randomized clinical trial we studied 90 women referring to obstetrics ward for Normal Vaginal Delivery (NVD) in Assali hospital in Khoramabad. Women were randomly allocated to receive either oral ibuprofen or oral fennel by stratified random sampling technique. All women were asked to give pain score by visual analogue scale before and at 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours after treatment.
Results: Difference between fennel and ibuprofen groups was not significant considering severity of pain before (P=0.22). Difference between two groups considering mean severity of pain one hour after treatment (P=0.57) was not significant. But comparing the mean of pain severity in two groups, showed significant difference after two (p<0.023), three (p<0.001) and four (p<0.001) hours after treatment.
Conclusion: Ibuprofen and fennel were effective for relief of postpartum pain without any notable side effects, but in general ibuprofen was more effective than fennel. More studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of fennel in pain relief especially in postpartum women which must be compared to a no treatment control group.