The only thing this study clearly proves is... the particular acupuncture point protocol used in the study was unsuccessful on the women who participated in the group.

The above statement is like saying drugs don't work for migraines, based on a small study when the drug used to treat the migraine was Zantac. Some peoples headache would go away regardless of taking a drug just as some women would go into spontaneous abor in any case. Others would have no effect since the drug used was incorrect. Using terms like acupuncture doesn't work is like saying drugs don't work. It's Too broad and not specific enough for the desired result. There are in fact studies that prove acupuncture used correctly can in fact be of great benefit when used for labor induction.

There are many things to consider when using acupuncture for labor induction and why it's important to see a practitioner who is specially trained in acupuncture obstetrics, who can evaluate what that mother needs in order to spontaneously have an efficient labor. Just forcing a woman to begin strong labor contractions isn't going to be necessarily the most beneficial outcome.

The goals of acupuncture for labor and childbirth are:

1) To help a women be in the best possible condition by making sure she is well rested in the weeks before the birth, acupuncture is shown in many instances to help with sleep and relaxation which is something women struggle with in the final weeks of pregnancy. Also to help relieve any lower back and hip discomfort that may be keeping the mother awake.

2) To make sure the baby is in the best possible position, anterior and dropping down correctly. Specific points are used to help a baby turn into the correct position and drop down to press on the cervix which then stimulates specific hormones to begin the process of labor. Acupuncture has shown to turn a breech or posterior presenting baby's to an anterior presenting position. (something western medicine can do nothing for)

3) To making sure the cervix is ripe, specific acupuncture points are used to help soften and "ripen the cervix" to prepare the baby's passage.

4) help the woman be emotionally prepared to go into labor. First time mothers and some subsequent mothers who have had bad previous births have anxiety, fear or concerns going into labor. Acupuncture is proven to help womens emotional state and help to give her the strength and self confidence needed so she can go through the most natural thing known to woman.

ONLY, after all these things are accomplished would it be appropriate to give an acupuncture induction to a woman who is 41+4. These pre-birth treatments should be started at 37 weeks and given once a week. More often than not a women will spontaneously go into labor after this wonderful method of preparation is used.

Something western medicine has forgotten to take into account. CHILDBIRTH IS THE MOST NATURAL PROCESS KNOWN TO WOMAN. Everyone is in such a big rush to move this process along and discounts one major physiological process that occurs in the last 4 days a baby in in the womb. These last days before birth when a baby is left alone, begins to empty the lungs of amniotic fluid in preparation for being born and breathing in air. This process is interrupted when doctors et all decide an induction date. It's like the baby has a "best if used by" sticker on them Why is everyone in such a rush to get a baby out before it's allowed this last process? Due dates are approximate in any case.

Labor inductions using acupuncture should be done by an acupuncturist who has specialized training in the proper use of the induction points. Many research reports on labor preparation and pre birth acupuncture can be found at this site as well as a pamphlet on acupressure for pain relief during labor for the womens partner.

http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.nz/

I agree with the above comments that, the acupuncuture has to be performed by a experieced acupuncturist, not a western medical doctor. Acupuncture is not at all what most medical researchers believed to "punch a needle to a designed acupuncture point". It is not so simple. So the second point of my statement is: did the researcher use the same acupuncture point to all of the woman in the project, or it depends on the individual need for each of them? I have no accesss to the research paper yet, but I really feel that we should check how they did the research. Publishing a paper does not mean that the the research design is reasonablly high qualified to make a conclusion!

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Who set this study up? It shows that using fairly ineffective points with insufficient stimulation will not appreciably induce labor. Heck one of the points they used at the top of the head usually pulls things up, which is the opposite of what you want to do to induce labor. And of course you need to know why the labor is stalled and to individualize the protocol. And not use it just because someone wants the baby out, whether it is ready or not.

As an acupuncturist I find that points on the sacrum or lower abdomen, in the web between the thumb and forefinger and on the ridge of the trapezius does a better job than the points used in the study. There would be additional points individualized to the woman and the reasons why labor is not proceeding. And I use the kind of stimulation appropriate to the case, while stimulation wasn't addressed in the study. Acupuncture doesn't work by just sticking in a needle in "the induce labor spot"- there is a whole complexity to diagnosis and engagement with the patient that this study left out.

For more discussion see: http://www.acupuncturebrooklyn.com

They used nurse midwives to apply the acupoints, not licensed acupuncturists. They also chose the wrong acupuncture points, wrong stimulation technique, and the treatment period was 30 minutes but standard protocol takes much longer. This is flawed research.

This study does prove something- that someone is trying to discredit acupuncture. There seems to be an inordinate amount of bad press regarding acupuncture coming from Britain. As Karen points out, we would never use points on the top of the head to induce labor. Actually we use that point to prevent miscarriage. Whoever designed this study did it in either total ignorance, or willfully chose points that would not work.

Having some experience at this, I have found that acupressure/tui na technique works better than acupuncture for this situation. Some good heavy pressure and rubbing on Gall Bladder 21 is quite effective since it not only activates the actions of downbearing of the point itself energetically but also physically increases pressure against the cervix when done with the patient seated. I also press and rub other "forbidden" points when the pregnancy is term and the mother desires to deliver including Spleen 6, Large Intestine 4, Bladder 60, Bladder 31-34 among others. In an otherwise normal pregnancy, these points are routinely chosen to facilitate (the word "induce" is really harsh here) labor. The last lady I performed this massage on had baby in hand with smooth labor 24 hours later.