Acupuncture may reduce anxiety in pregnant women

Hercules Luz da Silva, Mestrado Profissional em Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, ES, Brazil.

Márcia Valéria de Souza Almeida, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Departamento de Enfermagem, ES, Brazil. 

 Maria Helena Costa Amorim, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, SP, Brazil.

The study “Effects of auriculotherapy on anxiety of pregnant women receiving low-risk prenatal care” published in Acta Paulista de Enfermagem (Vol. 33), and conducted at the Federal University of Espirito Santos (Ufes), concluded that the use of auriculotherapy may help to reduce anxiety in pregnant women.

This investigation was conducted at a low-risk prenatal clinic in a philanthropic maternity hospital in the state of Espirito Santo, and included 50 pregnant women (25 in the control group; 25 in the experimental group). The intervention used was auriculotherapy, and participants were evaluated using the instrument to identify the level of anxiety before and after the auriculotherapy sessions.

Image: Hercule Luz da Silva.

Image: Hercules Luz da Silva.

The auriculotherapy showed a significant reduction of anxiety among pregnant women who were followed-up for two weeks, with consultation visits every three days. The intervention used was the auriculotherapy of  traditional Chinese medicine that uses seed fixation using points that in this tradition, when pressured, may calm down the tension and reduce the stress. Data of this study were analyzed statistically and they showed significance, indicating the auriculotherapy as a complementary treatment that can help to improve the quality of life of pregnant women.

Auriculotherapy is an integrative and complementary practice that is included in the list of treatments offered by the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) and can be applied by health professionals with specific education to apply this therapy, such as nurses and physicians. This study is an important contribution to the research team of UFES, and may increase the confidence and knowledge of this treatment through scientific evidence,  and constitute a low-cost and safe option to increase the possibilities of treatment offered to the population.

References

CONSELHO FEDERAL DE ENFERMAGEM (COFEN). Resolução COFEN n° 326/2008. Regulamenta no Sistema COFEN/CORENs a atividade de acupuntura e dispõe sobre o registro da especialidade. Brasília (DF):COFEN; 2008.

MINISTÉRIO DA SAÚDE. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Manual de implantação de serviços de práticas integrativas e complementares no SUS / Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde, Departamento de Atenção Básica. – Brasília (DF): Ministério da Saúde, 2018.

SILVA, H. L. Efeitos da auriculoterapia nos níveis de ansiedade e nos sinais e sintomas de Estresse e depressão em gestantes atendidas em pré-natal de baixo risco. Espírito Santo: Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, 2016.

To read the article, acess

SILVA, H. L. et al. Efeitos da auriculoterapia na ansiedade de gestantes no pré-natal de baixo risco. Acta paul. enferm [online]. 2020, vol.33 [viewed 27 November 2020].  https://doi.org/10.37689/acta-ape/2020ao0016. Available from: http://ref.scielo.org/hfh237

External links

Acta Paulista de Enfermagem – APE: www.scielo.br/ape