The safety of obstetric acupuncture: forbidden points revisited.

ABSTRACT:

Background/aim

Although the safety of acupuncture per se in pregnancy is reasonably well accepted, there remains debate regarding needling at points historically considered to be 'forbidden' during pregnancy. This article reviews the scientific literature on this topic.

Main findings

There is no objective evidence of harm following needling at forbidden points, summarised by the following four lines of evidence. (1) In 15 clinical trials (n=823 women receiving n=4549-7234 acupuncture treatments at one or more forbidden points) rates of preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth following are equivalent to those in untreated control groups and consistent with background rates of these complications in the general population. (2) Observational studies, including a large cohort of 5885

SUBMITTER: Carr DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4680134 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature