The Effect of LI4 Acupressure on Labor Pain Intensity and Duration of Labor

 

One of the most pressing concerns and fears for pregnant women is the pain of labor, which leads to an increase in the number of cesarean sections. Pain relief in labor is an important issue in obstetric care, however, as yet, there is no standard and accepted technique for the relief of that pain without side effects.

Generally, there are two options for pain relief during labor, these use either pharmacological or non-pharmacological methods. Pharmacological methods have adverse side effects for the mother and fetus, whereas non-pharmacological methods are free from side effects.

Acupressure is a non-invasive method which is used to augment labor, provide pain relief, and shorten delivery time. It increases the intensity of uterine contractions (based on Montevideo unit) without affecting the duration and intervals of uterine contractions and, eventually, reduces the duration of delivery.

A single-blinded, randomized, control trial was carried out over a seven-month period, between October 2011 and April 2012, at Dr. Shariati University Hospital in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS), Iran.

Our study suggests that L14 acupressure is a suitable non-pharmacological technique that is easy to perform and effective in elevating pain, without causing adverse side effects for the mother or baby. It can be used to reduce pain during the active phase of labor rather than using pharmacological methods. According to the World Health Organization’s policies to reduce the rate of cesarean deliveries and promotion of safe childbirth, it is necessary to make childbearing pleasant and reduce maternal fear of natural childbirth using safe methods to reduce labor pain and increase the rate of vaginal delivery. In order to make this possible, midwives need training in using non-pharmacological techniques and the attitudes and policies of the hospitals need to be altered. Due to the simplicity and safety of the acupressure technique, additional research using a larger sample size and in combination with other techniques to apply pressure on different points of body is suggested.

More...

Source:

Oman Med J. 2014 Nov; 29(6): 425–429. doi:  10.5001/omj.2014.113