This morning sickness research study focused on a form of morning sickness called “hyperemesis gravidarum” (HG), which means “excessive vomiting during pregnancy.” The debilitating condition usually follows a similar timeline to normal morning sickness and often results in hospital admission in early pregnancy.
The objective of the morning sickness research study was to explore acupuncture’s clinical benefits in treating HG. Investigators searched all major databases, including PubMed, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biological Medical, and China Science and Technology Journal, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) through January 2021.
Morning Sickness Research Results
Sixteen trials included 1043 morning sickness cases. Compared with conventional treatment, acupuncture had a significantly higher success rate, a higher conversion rate of urine ketone, an improvement rate of nausea and vomiting, and a higher improvement rate of food intake.
In addition, acupuncture shortened hospitalization time and resulted in lower pregnancy terminations and fewer adverse events. The study suggested that acupuncture was effective in treating HG.
What is Morning Sickness?
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, leading to weight loss, dehydration, ketonuria, malnutrition, and electrolyte imbalance. HG is usually responsible for hospitalization in early pregnancy, brings about severe physical and mental disorders, affects the postpartum period, and impacts the quality of life.
Common treatments include intravenous rehydration, nutrition counseling, electrolytes, vitamin supplements, ginger, and H Pylori treatment. However, due to the unsatisfactory efficacy of conventional treatments, and adverse reactions, people resort to complementary and alternative therapies.
Effective Rate
The effective rate is the primary outcome of this morning sickness research. Fifteen studies compared the effective rate at the end of treatment. And fifteen trials reported data on 962 participants. The results showed that the effective percentage of the acupuncture set was significantly higher than other active treatments in the control group.
Conversion Rate of Urine Ketone
Three studies compared the conversion rate of urine ketone after treatment with the control group of 203 participants. With no apparent heterogeneity between the studies, investigators employed the fixed-effects model for analysis. The results showed that, compared with the control group, the conversion rate of urine ketone was higher in the acupuncture group. Since P=0.0003, a clear difference between the two groups was present.
Reduced Rate of Vomiting Symptoms and Episodes
One study reported a reduced rate of vomiting episodes before and after treatment. Two studies reported an improvement rate of nausea and vomiting symptoms with 153 participants. The combined effect amount results revealed that the improvement rate of nausea and vomiting symptoms in the acupuncture setting is markedly higher than in the control set.
Improvement Rate of Food Intake
Three studies in this morning sickness research reported an improved rate of food intake after the treatment. A total of 3 trials evaluated 218 enrolled participants. Meta-analysis with stochastic effect mode implied that the improvement rate of food intake was higher in the acupuncture group. Combining the results of the two studies, the revised correction indicated that the improvement rate of food intake in the acupuncture set was still higher than in the control set; the meta-analysis results were robust.
Length of Hospital Stay
Two studies reported the length of hospital stay in the therapeutic and control teams. The results exhibited that P < 0.00001, a remarkable difference between groups, indicating that the hospital stays in the acupuncture group were less than conventional treatments in the control group, and the variance between both sets was statistically significant (P < 0.00001).
Pregnancy Success Rate
Two studies in this morning sickness research reported on pregnancy success rates involving 135 participants. The results demonstrated that the pregnancy success rate in the acupuncture group was higher than conventional interventions in controls, showing a statistically significant difference (P=0.01).
Adverse Events Rate
In the acupuncture set, there was one skin rash case; in the control set, there were two cases of skin rash, three of dizziness, and three of facial flushing. Compared with the control set, the random-effects model suggested that the incidence of adverse events in the acupuncture group was lower.
Morning Sickness Research Discussion
Researchers incorporated studies from 1995 to 2020 into the meta-analysis to evaluate the outcome of acupuncture in treating HG. This data included a total of 16 studies involving 1043. According to this study, acupuncture was more effective than the conventional treatment of HG. Acupuncture was superior in promoting the conversion of the urinary ketone to improve ketonuria.
In addition, acupuncture was more effective in reducing nausea and vomiting and increasing food intake. And the meta-analysis revealed that acupuncture shortened hospitalization times. Furthermore, data showed that acupuncture resulted in lower adverse events and a higher rate of successful pregnancies to full term.
Acupuncture Popular Treatment for Morning Sickness
As indicated in this morning sickness research, acupuncture is a popular treatment for morning sickness and HG. Through the stimulation of meridians and acupuncture points, acupuncture can regulate qi-blood and yin-yang and improve the function of the viscera. Although similar treatments, such as acupressure and hydro-acupuncture, are commonly used in HG, acupuncture still has unique advantages.
Acupuncture outperforms acupressure in the onset and duration of treatment. Acupressure requires prolonged (at least 8–12 hours) and correct wristband use to maintain curative effect]. Carlsson et al. observed that acupuncture could relieve vomiting in treating HG within a few minutes. Besides, acupressure often solely selects Neiguan (PC6), the commonly used acupoint in treating HG, whereas acupuncture is more flexible, selecting acupoints according to individual conditions and the holistic situation.
Moreover, Habek et al. found that acupuncture was superior to acupressure in treating HG. In addition, acupuncture is considered a mind-body therapy. It has favorable effects on mental and gastrointestinal psychosomatic disorders by regulating the autonomic nervous system.
Anxiety and Depression
Acupuncture reduces anxiety and depression scores in patients with nausea during pregnancy. The mechanisms of acupuncture in treating HG are gradually being explored and currently focus on its antiemetic and gastrointestinal function. Many experiments have demonstrated the influence of acupuncture on the endogenous opioid system.
In addition, it regulates gastrointestinal motility by stimulating the reflexes of the vagus and sympathetic nerves and affects gastric emptying via somatic, visceral reflexes to modify nausea and vomiting. In addition, recent studies demonstrate that acupuncture during pregnancy may be a safe treatment modality to mitigate discomfort, with no report of severe adverse events on mothers or newborns.
Conclusions
In summary, this morning sickness research shows that acupuncture is a practical approach for HG and has excellent potential to mitigate ketonuria, ease nausea and vomiting, increase food intake, and shorten the hospital stay.
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Reference
Lu, H., Zheng, C., Zhong, Y., Cheng, L., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Hyperemesis Gravidarum: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine: eCAM, 2021, 2731446. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2731446
Focus keyphrase: morning sickness research
Photo by Yan Krukau: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pregnant-woman-doing-excercise-7155353/
What our Clients are Saying
Single best thing for morning sickness!! I’ve had four kids and used acupuncture every time. This practice is the best! They don’t drag out treatments. They get you better fast.
My first pregnancy went so easy. So I was surprised when I got so nauseous with my second one. Every smell made me sick and I didn’t want to eat anything. My mom found Raleigh Acupuncture. The practitioner told me it generally took 3 to 6 treatments to stop the nausea. She was right. After 6 treatments I wasn’t nauseous anymore and could eat again without trouble. I’m very pleased and would recommend them to any pregnant woman suffering from nausea.
When I was pregnant 6 weeks I got terrible nausea and vomiting. I could not hold anything down. I started losing weight after two weeks and my doctor put me on medications. But I was still vomiting every day and felt awful. I found Raleigh Acupuncture and they treated me three times. It totally stopped the nausea and vomiting. I stopped my medications, and the rest of my pregnancy had no problems. They said this was an easy thing to treat. I wish I had known about it from the beginning of my pregnancy.