Effect of auriculotherapy on labor pain severity and labor duration: a clinical trial

Abstract Objective: Pain is an unavoidable reality of labor and the most noticeable determinant of the labor experience. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of auriculotherapy on labor pain and labor duration. Methods: This double blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted from 2021–2022 in Kerman, Iran. The sample consisted of 60 primiparous women assigned to an Intervention Group (n = 30) and a Control Group (n = 30). The study began after participants entered the active phase of labor at 37–40 weeks of pregnancy. In the Intervention Group, the researcher stimulated the desired points (uterus, pituitary gland, pelvis, cerebral, autonomous, sensory, endocrine gland, shen men, zero, external genitalia, and thalamus). Sham auriculotherapy (patches without seeds at the same acupoints) was done in the Control Group. Pain intensity in the two groups was recorded using the VAS before and after the intervention, when the cervix was dilated 4, 6, and 8 cm. Duration of labor was also recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 statistical software. Results: Pain intensity was significantly lower in the Intervention Group than in the sham Control Group (P < 0.0001) in different cervical dilatations after intervention. Compared to the sham Control Group, the intervention group was significantly different in the average duration of labor (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Auriculotherapy was demonstrated to attenuate the severity of labor pains and expedite the labor duration. Hence, policymakers in this field are recommended to pay greater attention to this non-invasive method.