Effect of Infrared Light Therapy on Episiotomy Pain and Wound Healing among Postnatal Mothers

Postpartum pain is a universal phenomenon. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effect of Infrared light therapy on episiotomy pain and wound healing among postnatal mothers at a selected tertiary care centre in Thrissur. The study was based on Wiedenbachs Helping Art of clinical nursing theory and two group pretest posttest design was used. The sample consisted of 60 postnatal mothers (30 in control and 30 in experimental group) who had vaginal delivery with RMLE. Standardized tools like NPS and REEDA scale were used after confirming their validity and reliability and statistical analysis was done using RMANOVA. Comparison of mean scores was done using Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. The result was interpreted as infrared light therapy was effective in enhancing the wound healing among postnatal mothers. The study results also revealed that there was a weak positive correlation between episiotomy pain and wound healing.