Comparison of the Effect of Acupressure at SP6 and SP8 Points on Pain Intensity and Duration of the First Stage of Labor

Labor pain is one of the most severe pains that women experience. Acupressure is a non-pharmacological method of pain relief without complications.

This study aimed to compare the effect of acupressure at SP6 and SP8 points on pain intensity and duration of the first stage of labor.

This clinical trial was performed on 150 women admitted to a hospital in Tehran, Iran, during 2020. They were randomly divided into control, SP6, and SP8 groups. In the control group, a neutral point was selected. In dilatations of 3-4, 5-7, and 8-10 cm of the cervix, the pressure was applied to each group for 20 min. Pain intensity was measured before the intervention and then 15 and 30 min after intervention in three groups, and the duration of the first stage of labor was recorded. The data were collected using demographic and obstetrics characteristics form, observation checklist, and Visual Analogue Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 19).

The results showed that the mean pain intensity in the three stages of the intervention groups and the mean duration of the first stage of labor was significantly different from those in the control group (P<0.001). The Tukey post hoc test revealed that pain intensity and duration of the first stage of labor were significantly lower in the SP8 group (P<0.001).Implications for Practice: It is recommended that acupressure be used as a non-pharmacological method to reduce pain and duration of labor.