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06/25/2018 / By Michelle Simmons
Acupuncture analgesia is an effective pain reliever for women in labor, according to a study published in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Since labor pain is severe and can be associated with side effects to the mother and fetus, scientists continue to search for available and safe pain relief treatments for women in labor, especially for primiparous women (pregnant for the first time), as labor pain is often more extreme for them than in multiparous women (had more than one child).
Researchers from China assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia for labor pain relief and labor outcomes in comparison to combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. The study involved 131 women who were in labor for the first time. The participants received either acupuncture analgesia, combined spinal-epidural anesthesia, or no additional treatment. Aside from these interventions, all participants received routine respiratory guidance during maternal uterine contractions. Then, the researchers compared the groups based on visual analog scale scores to assess the participants’ abdominal and back pain, and labor outcomes.
The researchers found that the groups that received acupuncture analgesia and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia exhibited significantly lower abdominal visual analog scale scores compared to the control group. This indicated that acupuncture analgesia and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia were effective labor pain relievers. Although combined spinal-epidural anesthesia was more effective in labor pain relief than acupuncture analgesia, the acupuncture analgesia group had shorter labor duration and fewer side effects than the combined spinal-epidural anesthesia group. More patients in the combined spinal-epidural anesthesia group experienced side effects, such as pruritus, nausea and vomiting, fever, and hypotension. Furthermore, the acupuncture analgesia group had significantly lower rates of oxytocin use, urinary retention, and postpartum hemorrhage compared to the combined spinal-epidural anesthesia group.
In conclusion, while the pain relief effect of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia appeared to be more effective, those in the acupuncture analgesia group experienced fewer side effects overall. In addition, the latter had shorter labor duration and a lower mean volume of postpartum hemorrhage. (Related: Six ways to manage labor pain naturally.)
Many of the early signs of labor are vague and easily misunderstood. Listed below are five signs of labor.
Learn more about acupuncture as pain reliever at HealingArts.news.
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Tagged Under: acupuncture, alternative treatments, Anesthesia, birth, labor pain, mind body science, natural healing, Naturopathy, pain relief, pain reliever, remedies, research, side effects, spinal-epidural anesthesia, therapy, women's health
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