The effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Aim This meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupressure on pain management during labor. Methods Six English and three Chinese electronic databases were comprehensively searched from inception to 6 November 2021. The PRISMA checklist was followed. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment Tool. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. Heterogeneity between studies was calculated using I2. Results Five studies comprising 312 participants were included. The labor pain scores of the auricular acupressure group were significantly lower than those of the usual care group at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm, with mean differences (95% confidence intervals) of −1.05 (−1.41, −0.69), −1.44 (−2.07, −0.82), and −1.96 (−3.30, −0.61), respectively. Auricular acupressure can thus effectively improve the labor pain perception at cervix dilations of 6, 8, and 10 cm. Moreover, auricular acupressure shortened the active phase, and had the trend of shortening the second and third stages of labor. There was no evidence that auricular acupressure had an effect on the rate of cesarean section or the 1 and 5 min Apgar scores. Conclusion Effective labor pain relief, better labor pain perception, and the lack of adverse effects support the use of auricular acupressure. More high-quality and rigorous trials are needed to verify our findings before we can make strong recommendations.