In April, Hilary Duff made the rounds in the celeb news for her Instagram post containing a photo of her with acupuncture needles in her face with the caption that she was gently trying to evict her baby. She was (is?) pregnant with her fourth child and impatient to meet the newest member of her family. This was widely shared in tabloid magazines and even some more main stream outlets– but very few asked the important question: can acupuncture actually encourage or induce labor?

I found a meta-analysis, this is a study that looks at a whole bunch of similar smaller studies, this one was looking at acupuncture and acupressure for inducing labor. It analyzed the results of 22 trials with 3456 participants and overall, they concluded there were no adverse effects on the fetus however, there was limited clinical effectiveness. In the eight studies comparing real acupuncture to sham acupuncture, there were no difference in rates of inductions, augmentations, length of labor, epidural, spontaneous vaginal birth, instrumental birth, c-sections, meconium stained liquor, NICU admission, infection (for mother or baby), or postpartum bleeds.

However, in two trials there may be evidence of favorable state of the cervix within 24 hours:

“There was evidence of a benefit from acupuncture in improving cervical readiness for labour (mean difference (MD) 0.40, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.69, one trial, 125 women), as measured by cervical maturity within 24 hours using Bishop’s score.”

But even if it helps with cervical readiness, the fact that it didn’t influence the rates of inductions, etc. does it really matter if the cervix was readier?

The paper also compared acupuncture to usual care, as well as electro-acupuncture, acupuncture vs sweeping membranes (artificial rupture of membranes), and similar comparisons with acupressure. There was even less support for acupressure’s effectiveness at influencing labor or reducing complications than acupuncture. If you’re curious about acupuncture and childbirth, it’s an interesting read.

There’s no doubt that for the people who enjoy acupuncture it’s relaxing source of personal attention in which you not only don’t have to, but aren’t supposed to move. I have a lot of respect for the placebo effect, especially for psychosomatic conditions, and sympathy for people who want to feel like they are doing something towards their goal even if it doesn’t actually do anything. And unlike many other alternative therapies, there’s very little chance of risk to the fetus, so long as acupuncture isn’t taking the place of necessary medical interventions.

Healthy people, with healthy pregnancies (and disposable income), are fine utilizing acupuncture for relaxation but its important to recognize the limitations and the risks… Risks like having your acupuncturist turn you into a human pin cushion and then abandon you to go home and take a nap. I’m not even kidding, this happened in Iowa. The poor pin cushion had to call the sheriff to come help.

Sources:

Kauffman, Clark. 13 April 2024. “Iowa medical board: Acupuncture patient was abandoned, called sheriff’s office for help.” Des Moines Register.

Smith, CA. 17 Oct 2017. “Acupuncture or acupressure for induction of labour.” Cochrane Library.

Steinberg, Russel. 17 April 2024. “Hilary Duff posts about using acupuncture to induce labor for 4th baby.” US Weekly.

Vallone, Sara. 22 April 2024. “Hilary Duff shares open letter to ‘friends’ as she nears the birth of her fourth child.” Miami Herald.