OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature for, and critically appraise, randomized controlled trials of any type of complementary and alternative therapies for labor pain. STUDY DESIGN: Six electronic databases were searched from their inception until July 2003. The inclusion criteria were that they were prospective, randomized controlled trials, involved healthy pregnant women at term, and contained outcome measures of labor pain. RESULTS: Our search strategy found 18 trials. Six of these did not meet our inclusion criteria. The remaining 12 trials involved acupuncture (2), biofeedback (1), hypnosis (2), intracutaneous sterile water injections (4), massage (2), and respiratory autogenic training (1). CONCLUSION: There is insufficient evidence for the efficacy of any of the complementary and alternative therapies for labor pain, with the exception of intracutaneous sterile water injections. For all the other treatments described it is impossible to make any definitive conclusions regarding effectiveness in labor pain control.
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