Acupuncture as Pain Relief During Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Many women need some kind of analgesic treatment to relieve pain during childbirth. The objective of our study was to compare the effect of acupuncture with transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) and traditional analgesics for pain relief and relaxation during delivery with respect to pain intensity, birth experience, and obstetric outcome. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 607 healthy women in labor at term who received acupuncture, TENS, or traditional analgesics. Primary outcomes were the need for pharmacological and invasive methods, level of pain assessed by a visual analogue scale, birth experience and satisfaction with delivery, and pain relief evaluated at 2 months postpartum. Secondary obstetric outcomes were duration of labor, use of oxytocin, mode of delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, Apgar score, and umbilical cord pH value. Analysis complied with the intention-to-treat principle. Results: Use of pharmacological and invasive methods was significantly lower in the acupuncture group (acupuncture vs traditional, p < 0.001; acupuncture vs TENS, p = 0.031). Pain scores were comparable. Acupuncture did not influence the duration of labor or the use of oxytocin. Mean Apgar score at 5 minutes and umbilical cord pH value were significantly higher among infants in the acupuncture group compared with infants in the other groups. Conclusions: Acupuncture reduced the need for pharmacological and invasive methods during delivery. Acupuncture is a good supplement to existing pain relief methods. (BIRTH

Acupuncture with manual and electrical stimulation for labour pain: a longitudinal randomised controlled trial

“…The finding that acupuncture had no significant effect on pain, yet reduced the frequency of use of other forms of pain relief has been observed in previous studies [5,7]. The reduction of use of pain relief must however be interpreted with some caution since this may be influenced not only by the woman in labour but also by the care provider and local culture within the labour ward [20].…”

“…In two studies, acupuncture has been reported to reduce pain [3,4], whereas other studies have found no evidence of pain reduction compared to sham control or standard care [5-7], although it has been found that those receiving acupuncture treatment had a lower frequency of epidural analgesia and/or pethidine use [5,8]. Furthermore, our own research group has demonstrated that sterile water injections, which give high intensity sensory stimulation, reduced the intensity of labour pain more effectively than acupuncture using manual stimulation of the needles [9].…”

A comprehensive representation of the birth-experience: identification and prioritization of birth-specific domains based on a mixed-method design

“…The use of an obstetric-related specific measure that concentrates on the course of labor and birth is, therefore, more informative in these situations. In the absence of such a measure, many (cost) effectiveness studies in obstetrics focus on specific aspects of labor, such as pain [4,5], patient satisfaction [6], labor duration [7], or anxiety [8,9]. …”

Acupuntura E Auriculoterapia Como Métodos Não Farmacológicos De Alívio Da Dor No Processo De Parturição

“…Em estudo dinamarquês (22) sinalizou-se que após 2h30min, metade das parturientes ainda utilizava a acupuntura. Esses dados mostram que as participantes da pesquisa atual tiveram pequena tolerância quando comparadas a estudos anteriores.…”

“…Essa diferença foi observada aos 60 minutos e 90 minutos (17) . Um estudo randomizado controlado (22) envolvendo 600 parturientes demonstrou que 59% tiveram alívio da dor. Vale acrescentar que a maioria dessas parturientes (53%) demonstrou desejo em utilizar o método numa próxima gestação.…”