Acupuncture as an alternative method of analgesia during delivery: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To identify whether acupuncture actually provides relief from labor pain in nulliparous and multiparous women. Method: This is an integrative review study in which the electronic databases Pubmed and Medline were used, which were accessed through the Virtual Health Library. In addition to these, SciELO was also used to search for articles. The Health Science Descriptors (DeCS) were "Analgesia for Acupuncture", "Labor and Delivery" and "Parity", as well as, with their respective translations into English, published in the period from 2003 to 2014. Data collection was conducted in October 2019. Results: Of the studies examined, only one concluded that there was no analgesic effect on labor pains with the use of acupuncture. Conclusion: Acupuncture shows the potential to contribute to the relief of labor pains and provides a holistic view of parturients.