Background: Mild psychological distress affect aproximately from one to five postpartum mothers globally. Difficult interactions and communication between these mothers and their children may increase the risk of behavioral disorders and led to cognitive impairment in the children. An alternate approach is used of non pharmacologic therapy. Lemon aromatherapy has been proposed to solve symptoms of mild psychological distress. Aims This study investigated the effectiveness of lemon aromatherapy through three alternate administration routes; inhalation, transdermal and massage on the symptoms of mild psychological distress in postpartum mothers. Method A quasi experimental design with pre and post test was used. The sample included of 108 postpartum mothers, divided into four groups each group include 27 respondents; the control group and three treatment groups. Findings Before treatment, 49.1% of participants showed the symptoms of mild psychological distress. Following treatment with lemon aromatheraphy there were 43.5% of participants who continued to have symptoms of mild psychological distress (down by 5.6%). The analysis showed that there were significant difference of effectiveness in transdermal treatment group (p value = 0.000) and massage (p value = 0.000) compared to the control group (p value = 0.014) and inhalation group (p value = 0.070); Conclusion: lemon aromatherapy treatment may be considered as a complementary therapy to reduce depressive symptoms in postpartum mothers

Keywords: Lemon Aromatherapy, Psychology of Postpartum Mother, Inhalation, Transdermal, Massage