The effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Aim: This meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor.Methods: Six English and three Chinese electronic databases were comprehensively searched from inception to 6 November 2021. The PRISMA checklist was followed. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment Tool. The metaanalysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. Heterogeneity between studies was calculated using I 2 . Results: Five studies comprising 312 participants were included. The labor pain scores of the auricular acupressure group were significantly lower than those of the usual care group at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm, with mean differences (95% confidence intervals) of À1.05 (À1.41, À0.69), À1.44 (À2.07, À0.82), and À1.96 (À3.30, À0.61), respectively. Auricular acupressure can thus effectively improve the labor pain perception at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm. Moreover, auricular acupressure shortened the active phase, and had the trend of shortening the second and third stages of labor. There was no evidence that auricular acupressure had an effect on the rate of cesarean section or the 1 and 5 min Apgar scores. Conclusion: Effective labor pain relief, better labor pain perception, and the lack of adverse effects support the use of auricular acupressure. More highquality and rigorous trials are needed to verify our findings before we can make strong recommendations.auricular acupressure, labor pain, pain management, randomized controlled trials, systematic review and meta-analysis | INTRODUCTIONPain is a common and inevitable part of the labor process and is the result of the integration of a combination of physiological and psychosocial factors (Mathur et al., 2020). Pain associated with labor has been described as one of the most severe instances of pain that women will experience in their lives, and it always

Effects of auricular point sticking on labor pain and anxiety

“…An extensive review analysis found that 92% of 27 studies focusing on auricular acupressure for acute pain showed effectiveness [23] . A meta-analysis of 5 randomized controlled trials also showed that labor pain scores were significantly lower in the auricular massage group than in the usual care group at cervix dilation of 6, 8, and 10 cm [15] . Although this study focused on pregnant women during the incubation, the findings are consistent with previous conclusions.…”

“…Severe pain and anxiety during this phase can lead to a range of complications, including prolonged labor, instrumental deliveries, abnormal fetal heart rate patterns, and neonatal hospitalization [12] . Although previous studies have explored the effects of auricular point therapy during the active phase of labor, there is limited research on its efficacy during the latent phase [13][14][15] .…”