Effect of Acupressure at the SP6 and LI4 Points on the Intensity of Labor Pain and Delivery Length

Delivery is one of the most important events in a woman's life, and pain is an inevitable part of childbirth. The non-controlled pain leads to prolonged labor and multiple injuries to mother and fetus. This research was done to determine the effect of acupressure at the SP6 and LI4 points on the duration and pain of the labor in nulliparous women. This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 84 nulliparous women who were attended hospital in Ardabil. The participants were divided into two intervention and control groups using randomized blocking. Pressure has been done on SP6- LI4 points in intervention group. Pain intensity was measured before and after the intervention using visual analog scales and length of active phase and second stage were recorded through vaginal exam in the checklist. Determination of the effect of pressure on the intensity of labor pain and delivery length performed using paired t-test, Student’s t-test and chi-square by SPSS v.16. After the intervention the mean level of pain intensity in the intervention group was decreased. Also, there was a significant decrease in mean intensity of pain after each intervention in the intervention group with different dilations (4, 6, 8, and 10 cm) (p<0.001).The mean duration of active phase and second stage in intervention group was significantly less than the control group. (p<0.001, p=0.008). Since acupressure at the SP6- LI4 point in different dilatations leads to the reduction in labor pain intensity and delivery duration, therefore, this method can be used to reduce the pain and duration of labor.