[Current state of clinical application of acupuncture therapy in maternity department in countries outside China].

In the present review, the authors sumarrize current situations about application of acupuncture and moxibustion therapies in the maternity department in countries outside China in accordance with 68 articles in English published from 2000 to 2011. The clinical application includes: 1) dilivery processing, 2) lumbo-sacrodynia, 3) dilivery pain, 4) pregnancy problems, 5) problems of post-dilivery, 6) conversion of fetal breech presentation, 7) nausea and vomitting during early pregnancy, 8) safety, 9) depression during pregnancy, and 10) blood supply of fetus. In addition, the retrieved papers include 13 review papers, 4 survey papers and one animal study. Although the purposes of those clinical trials are different, most of them focus on acupuncture analgesia. Despite most of those clinical trials achieved positive results particularly in pain relief, nausea remission, etc., and majority of the pregnant women were willing to accept acupuncture intervention, most systematic reviews or meta-analysis do not show conclusively positive results, and stress that further well designed researches are warranted for providing convincing evidence
PMID: 22764606