Application and Security Observation of Acupuncture in Labor Analgesia / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the therapeutic efficacy and safety of acupuncture and epidural anesthesia during full-term labor. Method A total of 199 eligible subjects experiencing natural labor were randomized into four groups. The acupuncture group was intervened by acupuncture at acupoints; the epidural group was given epidural anesthesia;the combined analgesia group was given acupuncture at acupoints plus epidural anesthesia; the control group was not given any interventions for analgesia. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was adopted to record and compare labor pain (cervix dilation 3 cm at 0 min, 30 min, and 60 min, and at full cervix dilation); meanwhile, the active period of the first stage of labor, cervix dilation speed, the second stage of labor, Caesarean section (C-section) rate, instrumental delivery rate, Apgar score, and post-labor bleeding amount (2 h) were also recorded. The contents of blood β-endorphin (β-EP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) were monitored during the first stage of labor. Result Compared with the control group, the VAS scores dropped in the other three groups, and the decreases were similar in the epidural group and combined analgesia group, while the decrease in the acupuncture group was the least significant. Regarding the labor-related indexes, the cervix dilation speed was higher in the acupuncture group than in the control group(P0.05). There were no significant between-group differencesin comparing the post-labor bleeding amount and Apgar score of the new-born babies(P>0.05), but compared with the epidural group, there was no use of assisted delivery. The content of blood β-EP during the first stage of labor increased in the acupuncture group and combined analgesic group(P0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture analgesia can reduce labor pain and shorten labor duration without affecting the second stage of labor and security-related indexes.