The Role of Acupressure in Reducing Labor Pain and Duration of Childbirth

Abstract

Labor pain is one of the most intense forms of acute pain experienced by women during childbirth. While pharmacological methods such as epidural analgesia and opioid administration are widely used for pain relief, they may be associated with side effects including hypotension, prolonged labor, restricted mobility, and potential neonatal complications. Growing interest in non-pharmacological and supportive childbirth practices has led to increased exploration of complementary techniques such as acupressure. Acupressure, derived from traditional East Asian medicine, involves applying manual pressure to specific acupoints believed to regulate energy flow and stimulate physiological responses. In obstetric practice, commonly used points include LI4 (Hegu), SP6 (Sanyinjiao), and BL32 (Ciliao), which are associated with pain modulation and uterine activity. This study examines the role of acupressure in reducing labor pain intensity and influencing the duration of childbirth.