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Acupuncture as Pain Relief During Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  1. Lissa Borup RM*,
  2. Winnie Wurlitzer RM,
  3. Morten Hedegaard MD, PhD,
  4. Ulrik S. Kesmodel MD, PhD,
  5. Lone Hvidman MD, PhD

Article first published online: 3 MAR 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-536X.2008.00290.x

Issue

Birth

Birth

Volume 36, Issue 1, pages 5–12, March 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Borup, L., Wurlitzer, W., Hedegaard, M., Kesmodel, U. S. and Hvidman, L. (2009), Acupuncture as Pain Relief During Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Birth, 36: 5–12. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-536X.2008.00290.x

Author Information

  1. 1Lissa Borup and Winnie Wurlitzer are Research Midwives in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby; 2Morten Hedegaard is the Head of the Department of Obstetrics at the Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen; 3Ulrik S. Kesmodel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus; and 4Lone Hvidman is a Consultant Obstetrician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Denmark.

*Lissa Borup, RM, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Brendstrupgaardsvej, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.

  1. The study was sponsored by the Aase and Ejnar Danielsen’s Foundation, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark; Sophus Jacobsen Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Danish Midwifery Organisation, Copenhagen, Denmark; Lundbeck Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark; Mads Clausens Foundation, Nordborg, Denmark; Hede Nielsen Foundation, Horsens, Denmark; The Research Fund at Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Else and Mogens Wedell-Wedellsborgs Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark; and King Christian the 10th Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 MAR 2009
  2. Article first published online: 3 MAR 2009
  3. Accepted September 1, 2008.

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Keywords:

  • acupuncture;
  • labor;
  • pain relief;
  • TENS

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 36:1 March 2009)

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