Acupuncture with manual and electrical stimulation for labour pain: a two month follow up of recollection of pain and birth experience

Abstract

Background: In a previous randomised controlled trial we showed that acupuncture with a combination of manual-and electrical stimulation (EA) did not affect the level of pain, as compared with acupuncture with manual stimulation (MA) and standard care (SC), but reduced the need for other forms of pain relief, including epidural analgesia. To dismiss an under-treatment of pain in the trial, we did a long-term follow up on the recollection of labour pain and the birth experience comparing acupuncture with manual stimulation, acupuncture with combined electrical and manual stimulation with standard care. Our hypothesis was that despite the lower frequency of use of other pain relief, women who had received EA would make similar retrospective assessments of labour pain and the birth experience 2 months after birth as women who received standard care (SC) or acupuncture with manual stimulation (MA). Methods: Secondary analyses of data collected for a randomised controlled trial conducted at two delivery wards in Sweden. A total of 303 nulliparous women with normal pregnancies were randomised to: 40 min of MA or EA, or SC without acupuncture. Questionnaires were administered the day after partus and 2 months later.

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“…Although there are various instruments for evaluating the childbirth experience, there are a relatively greater number of studies into the perception of the childbirth experience with only one or limited questions [47][48][49][50]. The childbirth experience is a complicated mental concept with various dimensions [1].…”

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