Acupressure treatment of morning sickness in pregnancy. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Abstract

Objective: To find out whether acupressure wristband can alleviate nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy.

Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Subjects: 97 women with mean gestational length completed 8-12 weeks.

Main outcome measures: Symptoms were recorded according to intensity, duration and nature of complaints.

Results: 71% of women in the intervention group reported both less intensive morning sickness and reduced duration of symptoms. The same tendency was seen in the placebo group, with 59% reporting less intensity and 63% shorter duration of symptoms. However, a significance level of 5% was reached only in the case of duration of symptoms, which was reduced by 2.74 hours in the intervention group compared to 0.85 hours in the placebo group (p = 0.018).

Conclusions: Acupressure wristband might be an alternative therapy for morning sickness in early pregnancy, especially before pharmaceutical treatment is considered.