Introduction:

aromatherapy consists of the use of essential oils in the prevention or treatment of various human conditions. In labor, it can be applied to relieve pain and anxiety.

Objective:

identify in the scientific literature on the use of aromatherapy and essential oils in the management of labor; and to elaborate a hospital protocol, based on the findings in the publications, on aromatherapy and application of essential oils in labor.

Materials and Methods:

this is an integrative literature review developed in the LILACS, Cochrane Library and Pubmed databases. Original scientific articles published between 2000 and 2019 were included. The material collected was analyzed based on Laurence Bardin's thematic content analysis.

Results:

thirteen articles integrated the corpus of this research. From them, four categories of analysis emerged: 1- Aromatherapy as a strategy for pain relief in the dilatation phase of labor; 2- Aromatherapy as a strategy to reduce anxiety in labor; 3- Methods of administering essential oils in labor; and 4- The use of essential oils for the management of unpleasant symptoms and the progression of labor.

Discussion:

based on the results, a hospital protocol was developed on the use of aromatherapy in labor.

Conclusion:

aromatherapy is an adequate tool for humanized care in the management of pain and anxiety in labor, with no adverse effects documented in the literature surveyed.

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