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Acupuncture/ pressurePregnancy

Acupuncture after spontaneous rupture of membranes at term of pregnancy

JR

In an earlier entry the growing list of studies supporting the role of acupuncture in pregnancy clinics was summarized.

Now, there’s a study showing benefits of acupuncture for augmentation of labor after spontaneous rupture of membranes at term.

  • 100 healthy pregnant women, with spontaneous rupture of membranes at term, were assigned to acupuncture or no acupuncture.
  • Duration of labor was significantly reduced with acupuncture.
  • There was a significant reduction in the need for oxytocin (Pitocin) infusion to augment labor.
  • Participants in the acupuncture group who needed labor induction had a significantly shorter duration of active phase (regular contractions and at least 4 cm of cervical dilation).
  • The findings remained significant when adjusted for potentially confounding factors like previous births, epidural analgesia, and birth weight.

Acupuncture might be a good alternative or complement to drugs to facilitate birth and provide normal delivery for women with prelabor rupture of membranes.

12/24/06 14:44 JR

Hi, I’m JR

John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

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