title: Acupressure on Self-Reported Sleep Quality During Pregnancy.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term effect of acupression at the H7 point on sleep quality during pregnancy. After oral consent had been obtained, the midwife invited the women claiming to have poor sleep quality and anxiety symptoms to complete the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-1. Then, the same midwife, previously trained by an expert acupuncturist (I.N.), advised the women to put on the wrist overnight compression H7 Insomnia Control half an hour before going to bed and to take it off upon awakening, for 10 consecutive days and thereafter every odd day (active group). Women refusing to wear the device for low compliance toward acupression were considered as the control group. After 2 weeks, a second questionnaire evaluation was completed. In the active, but not in the control, group, a significant improvement of sleep quality was observed after H7 device application. The study suggests that H7 acupression applied for 2 weeks improves sleep quality in pregnant women. This preliminary result should serve to stimulate further studies on the long-term effects of acupression.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. Electronic address: isabella.neri@unimore.it.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dante
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Facchinetti
mesh_terms: D019050:Acupressure; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016740:Meridians; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Point 7 of the heart meridian; acupression; pregnancy; sleep quality