Use of acupuncture during labour

Acupuncture is becoming widely recognised as an effective method of pain relief and is being increasingly integrated within the NHS, particularly for the treatment of tension-type headache, migraine and low back pain. Acupuncture during labour has been shown by a Cochrane review to reduce labour pain intensity, increase patient satisfaction and limit the use of pharmacological analgesia (Smith et al 2011) and epidural anaesthesia (Nesheim and Kinge 2006). It may therefore be particularly suited to labouring women who wish to avoid more invasive forms of pain relief. Furthermore, women receiving acupuncture in labour appear to experience additional benefits including shorter labours and reduced rates of instrumental vaginal birth (Smith et al 2011). In the UK, intrapartum acupuncture is usually provided by professional acupuncturists, but in countries such as Germany and Scandinavia it is widely given by midwives. A midwife-delivered acupuncture service appears to be a similarly feasible and cost-effective option in the UK and is currently being piloted at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust.