The results indicate that acupuncture reduces the experience of pain in labor. A secondary outcome of acupuncture was a shorter delivery time, which mainly, if not exclusively, can be explained by the reduced need for epidural analgesia. Acupuncture may be useful for parturients who wish a nonpharmacological analgesia without side-effects. For others it could be the analgesic method of choice, with pharmacological analgesics as supplements.

No abstract

A patient with undiagnosed myotonic dystrophy presented in pregnancy with a history of severe obstetric and neonatal complications in her two previous pregnancies. Problems arising after cesarean section led to the diagnosis of myotonic dystrophy. The features of this condition and its implications for pregnancy are pointed out. Complications of pregnancy and parturition may be the first symptoms of myotonic dystrophy.

El artículo describe las espátulas de Velasco-Chiriboga, una alternativa para el forceps y el extractor de vacío en la terminación del parto, cuando la presentación ha descendido al piso pélvico. Para evaluar su seguridad en la madre y el recién nacido se analizan 144 partos en los cuales se empleó el instrumento, demostrando ser eficaz, relativamente inocuo, aplicable rápida y fácilmente incluso por personas de poca experiencia. Durante los dos años en que han sido empleadas en nuestro departamento han desplazado al extractor de vacío como instrumento preferido para extracciones bajas.