Acupuncture in the delivery room remains a

prickly research topic

Acupuncture has been practiced in labor and delivery rooms since the 1970s, but its efficacy has
been hard to judge. Two studies released Wednesday provide more mixed results.

The first report pooled data from 10 clinical trials in which some patients received acupuncture
(sometimes in conjunction with traditional pain relievers) and others were treated with drugs.
The trials were conducted in Europe, China and Iran, with varying results.

Some of the trials found that women who used acupuncture were able to get through labor
with lower doses of Demerol or other pain-relieving drugs. But the researchers said they
weren’t persuaded that the acupuncture needles deserved the credit.

“Our analyses show that the effects of acupuncture perceived by women are largely due to
placebo,” study co-author Dr. Edzard Ernst of Peninsula Medical School in England said in a
statement.

The study was published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi anesthesiologist dealing with extreme shortages of medicine reported that
acupuncture reduced the need for oxytocin during Caesarean-section deliveries at Baghdad's
Red Crescent Hospital for Gynecology & Obstetrics.

Dr. Lazgeen Zcherky said shortages forced anesthesiologists to use a drug called halothane
during C-sections, even though it is known to relax the uterus and can cause increased
bleeding. To counteract the effects of halothane, Zcherky inserted acupuncture needles into
women as soon as possible after their babies were delivered. Six needles were placed in the
feet and ankles at points related to uterine bleeding (SP1 and SP6) and another related to
uterine contraction (BL67).

Of 200 women who received acupuncture, 45% did not need any oxytocin to counteract uterine
bleeding. Another 35% required two units of the drug, 18% needed two to five units, and only
2% needed more than that.

“Without acupuncture, it had been standard for the surgeon to ask for a minimum of 10 units
of oxytocin,” Zcherky wrote. “He would have preferred 20, but this was simply not available
except in problem cases.”