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eCAM Advance Access published online on August 17, 2006
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nel053
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© 2006 The Author(s).
Received October 12, 2005
Accepted July 5, 2006

Original Article

Electro-Acupuncture in Relieving Labor Pain

Fan Qu 1 * and Jue Zhou 1

1 Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin China

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Fan Qu, E-mail: qufan43{at}yahoo.com.cn


  Abstract

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 {beta}-endorphin ({beta}-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 {beta}-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 {beta}-EP and 5-HT into the peripheral blood.

Keywords: electro-acupuncture; labor pain; {beta}-endorphin ({beta}-EP); 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT).
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