• Yangyang Yi, Wenxuan Ju, Danni Fu, Rui Chen, Xue Bai, and Song Zhang.
• College of Public Health, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Horqin District, Tongliao, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Oct 25; 103 (43): e39425e39425.

BackgroundThis systematic review compared the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments for outcomes of different stages and labor pain among pregnant women.MethodsEight databases were electronically searched for TCM on labor pain between January 2012 and January 2022. The studies were recorded and screened according to inclusion criteria and subsequently entered in Note Express. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, and network meta-analysis was conducted with Stata 16.0. Forest plots and league tables were used to compare different treatment modalities' effect sizes. Additionally, the probabilities of various treatment modalities for each outcome under the cumulative ranking curve were determined. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022336091). This study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.ResultsThirty articles encompassing 3277 participants were included in the network meta-analysis with 9 different treatment modalities. In terms of pain of labor at 30 minutes, acupuncture + autonomic nerve block was the most effective treatment modality. With regard to the 60-minute pain and the first stage of labor, acupressure + acupuncture therapy was most effective.ConclusionIn general, a combined treatment with acupressure and acupuncture is the most effective approach for relieving labor pain and shortening the duration of labor. Based on these data, we intend to explore further clinical TCM therapy for relieving maternal pain.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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