SynthesisActa obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica2025
Acupuncture for induction of labor in uncomplicated term pregnancies and the role of the acupoint selection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline 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
- Mapping global research on labor and postpartum pain management: a bibliometric analysis (2000-2025).International journal for equity in health · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionAcupuncture is increasingly used for inducing labor; however, its effects on labor progression and birth outcomes remain inconclusive, and differences in acupuncture techniques are not fully considered by previous reviews. This study aims to evaluate the effects of acupuncture for induction of labor (AC-IOL) after 37 weeks of gestation on labor progression and birth outcomes, with a particular focus on comparing the combined stimulation of local and distant (L-D) acupoints with the selective use of either local or distant acupoints. MATERIAL AND
methodsFollowing PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and three Chinese databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating AC-IOL in uncomplicated pregnancies. Outcomes included onset of spontaneous labor, labor duration, use of epidural analgesia, mode of delivery, and Apgar score at 5 min. Meta-analyses were performed for each outcome, with subgroup analyses based on acupoint selection strategies. Quality assessment for the included studies was conducted using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool, and certainty of evidence using GRADEpro GDT. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024497859).
resultsTen studies including 1,432 participants were included. Five studies used combined L-D acupoint stimulation, and five used distant acupoints only; none used local acupoints alone. No significant differences were found between the acupuncture and control groups (sham acupuncture or usual care) in the onset of spontaneous labor, use of epidural analgesia, mode of delivery, or neonatal Apgar score ≤7 at 5 min. No significant differences in these outcomes were found in comparisons between the acupuncture group using a combination of L-D acupoints and the control group, nor between the acupuncture group using distant-only acupoints and the control group.
conclusionsModerate to very low-quality evidence suggests that AC-IOL was not associated with labor progression or birth outcomes in uncomplicated full-term pregnancies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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 Socratic graph.