title: The effect of acupressure on the initiation of labor: A randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Induction of labor is a common obstetric procedure. Acupressure is a natural method that is used for inducing uterine contractions. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the impact of acupressure on the induction of labor.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupressure on the initiation of labor.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this randomized clinical trial, 162 nulliparous pregnant women were admitted to the hospital. They were categorized into 3 groups; acupressure, sham acupressure and control. Acupressure points SP6, BL 60 and BL 32 were pressured bilaterally. The intervention was done by the researcher every other day between 9 am and 11 am. The intervention was carried out on women in the afternoon and the following day. Subjects were examined to determine the initiation of labor symptoms48 and 96h after the start of intervention and at the time of hospitalization. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests (p<0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference among the groups for spontaneous initiation of labor within 48h (P=0.464), and 49-96h after beginning the intervention (P=0.111) and 97h after beginning the intervention to the time of hospitalization for the spontaneous initiation of labor (P=0.897). There were no significant differences in the secondary outcomes between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the finding of this study, it seems that acupressure treatment was not effective in initiating labor as compared with the sham acupressure and the routine care groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torkzahrani
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: mahmodi2020@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mahmoudikohani
authors.affiliation: Acupuncturist, Acupuncture Medicine Association, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kiarash
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saatchi
authors.affiliation: School of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reyhaneh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sefidkar
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojdeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banaei
mesh_terms: D019050:Acupressure / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007751:Labor, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D014590:Uterine Contraction / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Acupressure; Initiation of labor; Labor; Sham acupressure; Term pregnancy