Objective: To evaluate the benefit of aromatic therapy using menthol for decrease pain perception during amniocentesis.

Material and Method: A prospective randomized study was conducted to compare pain level between groups of pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis with and without aromatic therapy using menthol. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for pain assessment. The participants were asked for their anticipated pain and anxiety level and level of pain before and immediately after the procedure.

Results: Three hundred seventeen pregnant women were recruited into the present study, 158 in the menthol group and 159 in the non-menthol group. Mean VAS score of the post-procedure pain and anxiety did not differ significantly between the two groups. Mean VAS score of the anticipated pain influenced the mean VAS score of the pre-procedure anxiety and post-procedure pain and anxiety irrespective of the group. Mean VAS score of the pre-procedure anxiety and post-procedure pain and anxiety increased about 0.3 cm for each 1 cm of increasing mean VAS score of anticipated pain.

Conclusion: Aromatic therapy using menthol was not significantly effective in reducing pain and anxiety during second trimester genetic amniocentesis.

Keywords: Genetic amniocentesis, Pain, Aromatic therapy, Menthol