Trial reportThe journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians2009
Acupuncture to initiate labor (Acumoms 2): a randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial.
Trial report in The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Acupuncture for induction of labor in uncomplicated term pregnancies and the role of the acupoint selection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture or acupressure for induction of labour.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Use of labour induction and risk of cesarean delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2014Pooled it
- Methods of induction of labour: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2011Pooled it
- How large are the nonspecific effects of acupuncture? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC medicine · 2010Pooled it
- Pre-Labor Acupuncture for Delivery Preparation in Multiparous Women Past Age 40.Medical acupuncture · 2019Article
- Forbidden acupuncture points and implications for inducing labor.Integrative medicine research · 2016Article
- Issues of design and statistical analysis in controlled clinical acupuncture trials: an analysis of English-language reports from Western journals.Statistics in medicine · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for labor stimulation.
methodsNulliparous women at 38 weeks or greater were randomized to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or usual care only groups. Acupuncture points LI4, SP6, BL32, and BL54 were needled bilaterally. The primary outcome was time from enrollment to delivery. Secondary outcomes included rates of spontaneous labor and cesarean delivery. Medical records were abstracted for maternal demographic, medical, and delivery outcome data. ANOVA, Student's t-test, Chi-square, and Kaplan-Meier statistics were used to compare groups.
resultsEighty-nine women were enrolled and randomized. Maternal age, gestational age, prior acupuncture experience, tobacco, alcohol and drug use, gravida, and history of gynecological surgery were similar among the groups. There were no statistically significant differences among groups for time from enrollment to delivery (p=0.20), rates of spontaneous labor (p=0.66), or rates of cesarean delivery (p=0.37). Rates of maternal and neonatal outcomes were not significantly different.
conclusionTCM acupuncture was not effective in initiating spontaneous labor or reducing the rate of cesarean delivery compared with sham acupuncture or usual medical care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.