Smith, CA & Crowther, CA (2009) Acupuncture Essay

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Smith, CA & Crowther, CA (2009) Acupuncture for induction of labour, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1, 1-26

The pregnant woman is induced when the pregnancy is becoming dangerous either for herself or for the unborn child. Generally done by drugs, Smith and Crowther (2009) reviewed the effects of induction that has been impelled by acupuncture which has been historically used to help induce labor and to reduce labor pain. Smith and Crowther (2009) conducted a review that included three trials involving 212 women. They concluded that clinical evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture as applied to this situation is limited, although some qualitative small studies do suggest that women who receive acupuncture receive fewer methods of induction than do women who receive the standard care of induction.

This article is particularly significant given that we are living in a period when increasingly more people turn to holistic or alternative medicines for help in curing their symptoms, in treating pain, or in preventing certain symptoms (MacLennan, 2002). On the whole, however, science has provided us with very little clinical evidence about the effects of alternative medicine, and much of this is mixed. Some practitioners state acupuncture to be helpful. Acupuncture may not be helpful for chronic or intense pain, but it has been conclusively revealed to diminish nausea and certain types of pain, but otherwise several review articles conclude it to have a placebo effect (Ernst, 2006). In this way, medical practitioners are skeptical about the medical effects of acupuncture and are cautious in prescribing it. Given these mixed reviews and given the potentially significant effect of acupuncture to the medical profession, it is important that more thorough and reliable research be performed.

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Smith and Crowther (2009) have attempted to do so using the subject of labor induction and reduction of pain during the process, as theme for their review. They have reported that nurses (as seen in a recent review by Allaire, 2000)) record the growing prevalence of acupuncture during pregnancy. In that review, at least 20% of the 82 surveyed midwives reported using acupuncture during some moment of the procedure. If acupuncture were shown to be harmful, its usage needs to be stopped. On the other hand, if it were demonstrated to be helpful (as other studies mainly occurring in Asia show), practitioners may consider integrating it in their practice labor. This is particularly so since acupuncture, along with other complementary practices, is considered less intrusive, and more comfortable as well as natural than conventional medicine leading users to prefer them. This may be specifically the case during prolonged labor when patients may feel less frightened by acupuncture than by conventional surgery or means.

Smith and Crowther (2009) accepted three trials of 212 women for inclusion about the analysis of the effects of acupuncture during labor. Their standards were admirably rigorous. They looked for clinical studies that studied the results of acupuncture within the format of a control group. This was good since it would eliminate the problem of acupuncture acting as a placebo (which may have been why previous studies reported success). They also defined their sample thoroughly. Inclusive variables included pregnant women due for third trimester induction of labor, carrying a viable fetus. The way….....

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