investigating the effects of acupressure and auriculotherapy on anxiety during labor, neonatal outcomes, and maternal-fetal attachment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: divergent findings reported in the literature on the impact of acupressure on improvement in mothers’ anxiety during labor and consequently on birth outcomes. however, there is no existing meta-analysis on this issue.objectives: this systematic review assesses the effect of acupressure and auriculotherapy on anxiety during labor, neonatal outcomes, and maternal-fetal attachment.methods: the cochrane central register of controlled trials, medline/pubmed, isi, and scopus online databases were searched by two researchers up to january 2023. the quality of studies was assessed based on the jade scale.results: nine studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. acupressure significantly decreased anxiety compared to touching (standardized mean difference=-3.29; p<0.001; i²=8%; p=0.295; the fixed effect model) and routine care (standardized mean difference=-1.08; confidence interval=-2.46 to 0.30; p=0.12; i²=96.19%; p<0.001). maternal-fetal attachment was higher in both groups who received acupressure and auriculotherapy compared to the control group (p<0.001). meanwhile, auriculotherapy did not impact neonatal outcomes, such as newborns’ weight and apgar score.conclusions: acupressure was an effective tool to improve anxiety during labor and it consequently improved fetal oxygenation.