Effect of acupressure in nausea and vomiting treatment during pregnancy: A meta-analysis

Background and objective

Many women experience nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Regardless of the disease severity, it affects the work and life of pregnant women. However, drug treatment may potentially impact the foetus; thus, alternative safe and effective measures are essential. We aimed to evaluate the effect of acupressure, a non-drug treatment for nausea and vomiting, during pregnancy.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP, and Wanfang databases were searched using ‘pregnancy’, ‘nausea’, ‘vomiting’, and ‘acupressure’ as keywords. The search period was from database inception to 30 November 2022. Two researchers independently screened articles, extracted data, and used RevMan 5.4 software for statistical analysis.

Results

We included 33 trials and 3 390 patients in this meta-analysis. Acupressure was effective for women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (odds ratio (OR)= 4.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) [3.47, 6.68]; p<0.0001); it significantly reduced the nausea score of the Rhodes index (mean square deviation (MD): -3.21, 95% CI [-4.85, -1.57], Z = 3.83, p = 0.0001), modified Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea score (MD: -2.18, 95% CI [-3.21, -1.15], Z = 4.15, p<0.0001), and hospital stay (OR=-3.27, 95% CI [-6.18, -0.36]; p = 0.03) and improved quality of life (MD: -14.06,95% CI [- 17.31, -10.18], Z = 8.48, p<0.00001). However, no significant difference was observed in nursing satisfaction and anxiety scores (OR=4.13, 95% CI [0.89, 19.15]; p = 0.07) (MD: -13.26,95% CI [-32.04,5.53], Z = 1.38, p = 0.17).

Conclusions

This meta-analysis provides evidence of a non-drug intervention for women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy; acupressure effectively reduces nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.