Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Sep;117(10):1255-61.
doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02647.x. Epub 2010 Jun 24.

Acupuncture for the induction of labour: a double-blind randomised controlled study

J Modlock  1 , B B Nielsen, N Uldbjerg
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Randomized Controlled Trial

Acupuncture for the induction of labour: a double-blind randomised controlled study

J Modlock et al. BJOG. 2010 Sep.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether acupuncture is effective for the induction of labour in post-term pregnancies.

Design: A double-blind multicentre randomised controlled study.

Settings: Aarhus University Hospital and Herning Regional Hospital, Denmark.

Population: One hundred and twenty-five healthy women with uneventful pregnancies at gestational week 41(+6) were randomised into two groups.

Methods: The intervention group was given acupuncture twice on the same day at acupuncture point GV20 and bilaterally at points BL67, LI4 and SP6. The control group received sham acupuncture at the same points.

Main outcome measures: At effect evaluation, which was carried out 24 hours after randomisation, the primary endpoint was labour or delivery.

Results: The primary endpoint was achieved in seven women (12%) in the acupuncture group and eight women (14%) in the control group (P = 0.79). Stratification for parity and fetal gender did not alter the results.

Conclusion: Under the treatment regimen investigated in this study, acupuncture for the induction of labour in post-term women at gestational age 41(+6) weeks may not be effective.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00245752.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rabl M, Ahner R, Bitschnau M, Zeisler H, Husslein P. Acupuncture for cervical ripening and induction of labor at term—a randomized controlled trial. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2001;113:942–6. - PubMed
    1. Gaudernack LC, Forbord S, Hole E. Acupuncture administered after spontaneous rupture of membranes at term significantly reduces the length of birth and use of oxytocin. A randomized controlled trial. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2006;85:1348–53. - PubMed
    1. Selmer-Olsen T, Lydersen S, Morkved S. Does acupuncture used in nulliparous women reduce time from prelabour rupture of membranes at term to active phase of labour? A randomised controlled trial. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2007;86:1447–52. - PubMed
    1. Smith CA, Crowther CA, Collins CT, Coyle ME. Acupuncture to induce labor: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112:1067–74. - PubMed
    1. Lao L, Hamilton GR, Fu J, Berman BM. Is acupuncture safe? A systematic review of case reports. Altern Ther Health Med. 2003;9:72–83. - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data