Effect of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) on vaginal bleeding in induction of missed abortion
Effect of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) on vaginal bleeding in induction of missed abortion
Mozhgan Mahmoodi Nasab,1,*Marzeyeh Loripoor,2
1. Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Rafsanjan University of Medical sciences. 2. Midwifery and Health Reproductive department, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.
Introduction: Hemorrhage is one of the three main causes of maternal mortality worldwide. Considering the observed beneficial effect of evening primrose in some gynecological and obstetric procedures, this study was conducted with the aim of the effect of evening primrose on vaginal bleeding in induction of missed abortion.
Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 148 women referring to Niknafas Hospital in Rafsanajn with diagnosis of missed abortion were randomly allocated into two 74-subject groups. The intervention group used 2000 mg vaginal evening primrose capsules the night before the hospitalization, while the control group did not receive any medication. Both groups received an initial dose of 800 μg of vaginal misoprostol after admission and the next dose was given three hours later if necessary. The required information from the patients' files was recorded in the relevant checklist and analyzed with spss software and chi-square, t-test and Fisher's exact statistical tests.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the level of vaginal bleeding when referring for abortion induction in the intervention and control groups (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the level of vaginal bleeding during hospitalization and during the ejection of uterine contents in the two groups (P < 0.05), so that this bleeding was less in the intervention group than in the control group. In the intervention group, 90% of the cases were mild bleeding, 8.6% moderate, and 1.4% severe bleeding, and in the control group, 74.3% mild bleeding, 24.3% moderate, and 1.4% severe bleeding were recorded.
Conclusion: Administration of 2000 mg evening primrose vaginally at the night before induction of a missed abortion is effective in reducing bleeding in this process. More studies in this field are suggested.