Effect of Acupressure on Duration of Labor in Nulliparous Women

Delivery period can be an effective factor on pregnancy outcomes and feto-maternal complications. Since its prolongation may lead to medical and surgical interventions, we aimed to determine the effect of acupressure on delivery duration of nulliparous women. This clinical trial was conducted on 150 parturients referring to Dezianii Hospital in Gorgan, Iran. They were assigned to three groups of acupressure by researcher, acupressure by mother and routine care (control group). The intervention was 20 minutes of pressure for one to five sessions. Data was analyzed by SPSS-17 software, using ANOVA and Kruskal-wallis. The first stage of labor in researcher (269.78±102.27), mother (302.72±115.83) and control group (345.92±140.63) was not significantly different (P=0.084(.Furthermore, the period of second stage in all three groups showed no significant difference (P=0.77). Given that acupressure is a simple, accessible and free of side effect method, it has not significant impact on the duration of labor.