The Effect of Acupressure on the Severity of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

INTRODUCTION: Nausea and vomiting are common problems during pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that stimulation at Neiguan (PC6) acupoint can be effective in controlling pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, more evidence is required for approving this method on controlling pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of PC6 acupoint pressure stimulation on the severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching in pregnant women. METHOD: This randomized, multi-center clinical trial was conducted on pregnant women referring to Health Centers and Ommolbanin Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, during December 2016 to September 2017. Women with first singleton pregnancy and below 12 weeks were included. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups of (1) PC6 pressure (4 times a day, for 10 min), (2) sham acupressure, and (3) medication with vitamin B6 and metoclopramide. Assessment of severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching was done based on the Rhodes Index on the first and fifth day (before and after the intervention). Pearson chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis using SPSS version 18. This clinical trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) with the code IRCT201512187265N6. RESULTS: Ninety patients with a mean age of 26.40 +/- 4.73 years were studied in 3 groups of 30. There was no significant difference between the 3 groups in terms of the severity outcomes before the intervention, while, after the intervention, the three groups were significantly different on the fifth day in terms of vomiting frequency, distress from retching, distress from vomiting, duration of nausea, distress from nausea, amount of vomiting, frequency of nausea, and frequency of retching (p < 0.001 for each outcome). According to the linear regression analysis, the correlation between occupation with vomiting frequency (beta coefficient = 0.252) and nausea severity (beta coefficient = -0.213) was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: It seems that PC6 acupoint pressure can reduce the severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching in pregnant women.