| Reference Year | Study Design Subjects Age | Subject Sources | Treatment of Interest | Treatment Frequency | Initial Exam | Outcome Measures | Follow-Up | Results |
| [2] 2015 | Randomized, controlled trial (RCT). 120, 20 to 29 year olds. | Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital. | Han’s EA at JiaJin (TL10-L3) and Ciliao (BL 32), PCIA, PCEA, no analgesia. | 30 min., 100 Hz with 2 Hz burst, 15 - 30 mA. | ≥3 cm. | APGAR, delivery mode, labor length, fetal weight, oxytocin dose, PPH, 10-point VAS. | None after delivery. | Shorter Stage 2 labor and half the adverse events with EA than PCEA, p = 0.05 and p < 0.05. Compared to no analgesia, EA and PCEA reduced CD rate p < 0.05. Compared to PCIA, EA, PCEA, and no analgesia increased 1-minute APGAR score p < 0.05. |
| [21] 2015 | Double-blind RCT. 156, any age. | Public hospital, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. | Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupressure, superficial touch (TG) or no intervention. | 5 - 15 kg or 100 g pressure for 20 min. during contractions. | ≥4 cm. | APGAR, delivery mode, induction, labor length, membrane status. | None after delivery. | SP6 acupressure reduced average labor duration by 160.4 min., p = 0.0047. SP6 point acupressure did not affect CD rate, 1- and 5-min. APGAR scores, p = 0.2526, p = 0.9542, and p = 0.7218. |
| [23] 2015 | RCT of 180, 20 to 35 year old, nulliparas. | Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, China. | Han’s-100B, EA at JiaJin (TL10-L3) or Sanyinjiao (SP6), standard care control. | Begun at onset of active labor | ≥3 cm. | APGAR, labor length, oxytocin use, fetal weight, VAS pain scores before intervention, and 30, 60, and 120 min. post intervention. | None after delivery. | EA at TL10-L3 or SP6 reduced pain at 30 min. post intervention (p < 0.01) and reduced active phase labor length (p < 0.05). EA at TL10-L3 resulted in less subsequent pain, measured at 60 and 120 min. post intervention, than EA at SP6, p = 0.02 and p = 0.04. EA at TL10-L3 reduced mean active labor length (33.45 min., p < 0.01) more than EA at SP6 (21.57 min., p = 0.03). |
| [25] 2015 | RCT. 97, 18 to 35 year olds. | Esfahan Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Iran. | Acupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Zu san li (ST 36 for 20 to 30 min., Pethidine and standard care. | At onset of active labor. | 4 to 5 cm. | APGAR, labor length, PPH, VAS scores before intervention, 30 min. post intervention, and at full dilation. | None after delivery. | Acupuncture most effectively reduced pain when measured 30 min. after intervention, p = 0.0001. In comparison to the control, acupuncture and pethidine similarly reduced the mean length of active phase labor by 68 min., p = 0.0001. PPH comparable across groups. |
| [26] 2014 | RCT. 303 nulliparas. | 2 Swedish hospitals. | EA or MA, standard care. | 40 min. MA or combined EA and MA, repeated in 2 hours, prn. | >3 cm. | APGAR, augmentation, epidural use, delivery mode, labor length, 100 mm VAS line. | Separate reference as below. | EA reduced pain, OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.23 to 4.82. EA least associated with CD (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.14 to 1.26), or labor augmentation (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.28). EA reduced labor by 115 minutes (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.97). |
| [27] 2015 | RCT. Secondary analyses. | 2 Swedish hospitals. | EA or MA, standard care. | 40 min. MA or EA and MA, repeated in 2 hours, prn. | >3 cm. | Positive birth experience, recalled pain on a 100-point VAS line. | 2-month post- partum | EA group most likely to recall sufficient pain relief (OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.9 to 4.9), but less likely than MA group to plan to use the same analgesia in their next labor (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.4 to 1.5). |
| [28] 2013 | RCT. | 1 Turkish hospital. | TENS acupuncture pen at Hegu (LI4), standard care. | 20 min. | 3 to 5 cm. | ACTH, cortisol, VAS. | None after delivery. | Non-significantly lower ACTH, cortisol, and VAS in TENS acupuncture pen at Hegu (LI4) group in comparison to standard care controls. |
| [29] 2015 | RCT. 63 nulliparas who refused PCEA. | 2 Iranian hospitals. | Acupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), sham acupuncture. | 20 min. | ≥4 cm. | Cortisol, labor length, VAS. | None after delivery. | Statistically similar cortisol levels and VAS scores. Acupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) reduced labor length by 118 min., p = 0.000. |
| [30] 2012 | RCT. 100, 20 to 40 year olds. | 1 Iranian hospital. | Acupressure at Hegu (LI4), TG. | 20 min. | 3 to 4 cm. | APGAR, labor length, satisfaction, VAS. | 1-day post- Partum. | Membrane rupture occurred more in the acupressure group 48%, versus 34% in the TG control. Overall pain was less in the acupressure group, p = 0.0001 |