Effect of Warm and Cold Acupressure Applied to the LI4 Acupressure Point on Childbirth Comfort During Labor: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

CONTEXT: Labor pain is considered one of the most well-known types of severe pain. For this reason, non-pharmacological methods employed for managing labor pain are necessary to help pregnant women cope with labor pain and increase their childbirth comfort.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cold and warm acupressure applied to the LI4 acupressure point on childbirth comfort in primiparous women during labor.

DESIGN: This study was designed as a randomized controlled experimental trial.

SETTING: The study was conducted between August 2020 and March 2021 at 2 hospitals in northern Turkey offering similar maternity services.

PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 129 healthy pregnant women: 44 in the warm acupressure group, 44 in the cold acupressure group and 41 in the control group.

INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. The researcher applied cold or warm acupressure pouches, respectively, on the women in the 2 experimental groups on the LI4 acupressure point for 10 minutes during the active and transition phases of labor. The application was suspended for 1 hour, and then repeated 3 more times. No acupressure was administered in the control group.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The Personal Information Form (PIF), Labor Monitoring Form (LMF), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Childbirth Comfort Questionnaire (CCQ) were used to gather study data.

RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between both the intergroup and intra-group pain scores in the experimental and control groups (P < .05) and childbirth comfort scores in the experimental and control groups in terms of groups and timing (P < .05).

CONCLUSION: In this study, both warm and cold acupressure were found to alleviate labor pain. The warm acupressure, in particular, had a more positive effect on childbirth comfort. Thus, warm and cold acupressure can be recommended to relieve labor pain and increase childbirth comfort.