The Safety of Acupuncture during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

Abstract

ObjectiveAlthough there is a growing interest in the use of acupuncture during pregnancy, the safety of acupuncture is yet to be rigorously investigated. The objective of this review is to identify adverse events (AEs) associated with acupuncture treatment during pregnancy.MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) and five Korean databases up to February 2013. Reference lists of relevant articles were screened for additional reports. Studies were included regardless of their design if they reported original data and involved acupuncture needling and/or moxibustion treatment for any conditions in pregnant women. Studies of acupuncture for delivery, abortion, assisted reproduction or postpartum conditions were excluded. AE data were extracted and assessed in terms of severity and causality, and incidence was determined.ResultsOf 105 included studies, detailed AEs were reported only in 25 studies represented by 27 articles (25.7%). AEs evaluated as certain, probable or possible in the causality assessment were all mild/moderate in severity, with needling pain being the most frequent. Severe AEs or deaths were few and all considered unlikely to have been caused by acupuncture. Total AE incidence was 1.9%, and the incidence of AEs evaluated as certainly, probably or possibly causally related to acupuncture was 1.3%.ConclusionsAcupuncture during pregnancy appears to be associated with few AEs when correctly applied.

Adverse event reporting in studies of penetrating acupuncture during pregnancy: a systematic review

“…However, it is important to report upon the trends that were noted on data extraction to help aid clinicians and patients on informed consent. Transient and non-serious adverse events were the norm in the included studies, and no adverse events were recorded as having an effect on the fetus, which supports a previous review [8]. The non-serious events were very similar in both acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups, which tentatively suggests that their occurrence is neither more nor less when receiving a skin-penetrating needle compared with another intervention.…”

“…The range of adverse events that may be associated with acupuncture and moxibustion during pregnancy has recently been reviewed [8]; however, the definition of acupuncture was unclear, and no comparison was made between adverse events in acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups. Despite this recent review [8], the quality of reporting has yet to be established. In addition, the types, severity and occurrence of adverse events associated with a skin-penetrating needle compared with non-skinpenetrating interventions remains unclear.…”

O uso da acupuntura antes, durante e após a gestação: Uma revisão integrativa

“…Entretanto, considera-se que embora não tenham sido apresentadas complicações relacionadas à acupuntura, a literatura clássica deve ser levada em consideração 10 .…”

Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Undergoing in Vitro Fertilisation Or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…28 In this review, no studies reported information regarding AEs. Although existing studies regarding acupuncture for various conditions have supported the assertion that it is a relatively safe treatment modality, 29 acupuncture treatment varies considerably and is not without risk. 30 Future clinical trials must identify potential AEs more thoroughly.…”