Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Only prospective randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were eligible for inclusion in the review.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies of acupuncture, electroacupuncture or auricular acupuncture that involved needle insertion during labour were eligible for inclusion. These interventions had to be compared with usual care or placebo acupuncture. All of the included studies used manual acupuncture.
Participants included in the review
No inclusion criteria were specified. It appears that any study involving women in labour were eligible for inclusion. All of the included studies were conducted in either Sweden or Norway and in a hospital setting.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies assessing objective and/or subjective measurements of pain-related outcomes were eligible for inclusion. Such measurements included requests for analgesics or epidural analgesia (EDA), pain intensity, and whether acupuncture would be chosen in future labours.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.