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eCAM Advance Access originally published online on August 17, 2006
eCAM 2007 4(1):125-130; doi:10.1093/ecam/nel053
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© 2006 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commerical use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Electro-Acupuncture in Relieving Labor Pain

Fan Qu and Jue Zhou

Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine Harbin China

To study the efficacy of electro-acupuncture for the relief of labor pain, and to build a better understanding of how electro-acupuncture might influence the neuroendocrine system, 36 primiparas were randomly divided into an electro-acupuncture group and a control group. Assessments of pain intensity and degree of relaxation during labor were analyzed. The differences between the electro-acupuncture group and the control group on the concentration of ß-endorphin (ß-EP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the peripheral blood were compared. The electro-acupuncture group was found to exhibit a lower pain intensity and a better degree of relaxation than the control group (p = 0.018; p = 0.031). There existed a significant difference in the concentration of ß-EP and 5-HT in the peripheral blood between the two groups at the end of the first stage (p = 0.037; p = 0.030). Electro-acupuncture was found to be an effective alternative or complementary therapy in the relief of pain during labor. The benefit of electro-acupuncture for relieving labor pain may be based on the mechanism of producing a synergism of the central nervous system (CNS) with a direct impact on the uterus through increasing the release of ß-EP and 5-HT into the peripheral blood.

Keywords: electro-acupuncture – labor pain – ß-endorphin (ß-EP) – 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)

For reprints and all correspondence: Fan Qu, Jue Zhou, Heilongjiang Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower No.78-1 in Yanxing Road, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150080 China. Tel: +86-13796069683; Email: qufan43{at}yahoo.com.cn

Received October 12, 2005; accepted July 5, 2006


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