Herbal Approaches to Postpartum Pain: Mechanistic and Clinical Perspectives on Ginger Intervention

Postpartum pain is a significant public health issue associated with discomfort, delayed recovery, and reduced quality of life for women, and this narrative review evaluates the efficacy and safety of ginger (Zingiber officinale) for postpartum pain management while identifying research gaps and methodological challenges; a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library from January ۲۰۱۰ to April ۲۰۲۵ was conducted using terms such as ginger, postpartum pain, postnatal analgesia, and herbal medicine, including randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses that investigated the effects of ginger on postpartum pain in women, with data extraction focusing on study design, intervention details, pain assessment methods, and outcomes related to pain reduction and safety; evidence indicates that ginger supplementation significantly reduces postpartum pain intensity versus placebo or no treatment, with analgesic effects attributed to ginger’s bioactive compounds that modulate inflammatory pathways, and a favorable safety profile with minimal adverse effects reported, though heterogeneity in dosage, formulation, and pain measurement tools across studies limits definitive conclusions, and methodological limitations such as small sample sizes and short follow-up periods underscore the need for rigorous research; in conclusion, ginger shows promise as a safe and effective complementary therapy for postpartum pain management, but establishing optimal dosing, long-term safety, and clinical integration requires well-designed, large-scale trials with standardized protocols, and this review highlights ginger’s potential to improve postpartum care and reduce reliance on conventional analgesics.

کلیدواژه ها:

ginger ، Zingiber officinale ، postpartum pain ، labor pain ، postpartum analgesia ، herbal medicine