2024, Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part A

author(s)
Mohanalakshmi, Anbuselvi, Emerensia and Suja Santhosh

abstract
Motherhood is a creative, productive, and joyful experience in a woman's life. The study aimed to determine the effect of Aloe vera ice cube application on episiotomy pain and wound healing among postnatal mothers. A quasi-experimental pre and post-test with a control group design study was conducted on 50 postnatal mothers selected by purposive sampling method from the postnatal ward. Among 50 postnatal mothers, 25 were in the experimental group and 25 in the control group with episiotomy pain. In the experimental group, Aloe vera ice cubes were applied to the episiotomy wound 4 hours after normal vaginal delivery, followed by two more applications at 4-hour intervals on the same day. Pain levels and wound healing status were recorded on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. On Day 1, after 4 hours of delivery, immediately before the first intervention; on Day 2, after the 24^th hour of the first intervention and on Day 3, after the 48^th hour of the first intervention, observed wound healing status using REEDA scale and level of pain was assessed using Numerical pain scale. The result revealed that before the intervention on day 1, both the experimental and control groups had similar pain scores (Experimental: 9.36±0.57; control: 9.60±0.50) and wound healing scores (Experimental: 13.08±0.76; control: 13.40±0.50). After the intervention, the experimental group demonstrated significant reductions in pain and improved wound healing compared to the control group. By day 3, mean pain scores dropped to 2.52±1.33 in the experimental group versus 6.68±0.85 in the control group, and mean wound healing scores decreased to 3.68±1.28 in the experimental group versus 9.00±0.96 in the control group. Repeated measures ANOVA and t-tests showed significant differences in both pain and wound healing between groups after the intervention (p<0.001), while no differences were observed before the intervention. The findings confirm the effectiveness of Aloe vera ice cube application in reducing episiotomy pain and enhancing wound healing among postnatal mothers. The findings recommended that the Aloe vera ice cube application as an effective, non-pharmacological intervention for reducing episiotomy pain and enhancing wound healing in postnatal care and can be integrated into standard care procedures to enhance patient comfort and recovery.