A growing body of research suggests that acupuncture can help control pain during childbirth but more studies are needed, according to a review of published studies on the topic.

“Although the results seem promising ... at the moment we don’t have enough data to recommend acupuncture for labor pain management,” study co-author Dr. Hyangsook Lee, told Reuters Health. “More high-quality trials are awaited,” the researcher added.

Various studies have found that acupuncture may be helpful in treating low back pain, acute dental pain and recurrent headache. Acupuncture has also been used for a variety of obstetrics and gynecology-related conditions, such as to treat morning sickness and to induce labor.

Several researchers have also found that acupuncture may be useful in controlling pain during labor, but others have reported contradictory findings.

To evaluate and summarize the evidence concerning acupuncture and labor pain, Lee and co-author Dr. Edzard Ernst - both at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in the UK - conducted a computerized literature search of several databases. They identified three somewhat rigorous trials that fit their quality standards.

In the first trial, 106 women who received acupuncture along with conventional medication were compared with 92 women who were given only conventional care.

The study authors reported that the acupuncture group was less likely to request meperidine or any other pain medication than were those who did not receive acupuncture. Further, almost all of the women treated with acupuncture said they would use the complementary treatment again for labor pain.

In another trial involving 90 women, participants were randomly assigned to a group that received acupuncture or a group that received conventional care. Both groups were also given any requested pain medication or nonpharmacologic pain management techniques such as a bath or shower.

This study’s authors reported that women in the acupuncture group requested less of one pain medication, but similar levels of other pain medications than did those in the comparison group. The acupuncture group also reported a higher level of relaxation than their peers and were less likely to request nonpharmacologic pain treatment.

In the third trial, 106 women received acupuncture and 102 women received placebo acupuncture, in which superficial needles were applied to non-acupuncture points. None of the women knew whether they received acupuncture or the sham treatment.

Still, the acupuncture group reported less pain up to two hours after acupuncture and two hours after giving birth than did those who received the sham treatment, the study’s findings indicate. The women who received acupuncture also requested less pain medication than did their counterparts.

Collectively, the studies show that women who received acupuncture during labor reported pain relief and requested less pain medication than other women, Lee said, adding that “they were also satisfied with the treatments/care they received.”

Overall, the data suggest that acupuncture “can be another option for pregnant women for labor pain management if future trials support acupuncture’s effect,” Lee said.