Comparing the effect of Auricular point acupressure and body acupressure on the pain score and the active phase duration of first stage of labor

1. Comparison of the mean score of pain during the first stage of labor in 4 and 10 cm dilatation in three groups (acupressure, acupressure, control) 2. Comparison of the mean active phase duration of the first stage of labor in the three groups (acupuncture, acupressure, control)

Clinical trials with control group, hospital-based, with parallel, double-blind, randomized groups

The stages of the study: 1- Obtaining permission from the Ethics Committee and the clinical trial code after the approval of the proposal, obtaining the necessary letters for attendance at the center (Kowsar Hospital in Qazvin) 2- Selection of contributors and random allocation in study groups: Initially, pregnant women who have criteria for admission to study at the time of admission will be explained in terms of study objectives and methodology, and if they wish to participate in the research, written consent is obtained from them. Then, based on the predetermined allocation sequence described below, women are divided into three groups: acupuncture, acupressure, and routine control. 3. Evaluation of the pain of all participants at the peak of uterine contraction in 4 cm dilatation of the cervix. 4- Performing intervention in different groups 5- In 10 cm dilatation, the pain rate is measured in all the participants in the three groups. Also, in order to study the duration of the active phase of labor in the groups, the start and end times of the first phase of the labor are recorded in the questionnaire, and the difference between these two times indicates the duration of this stage. (Evaluating the consequences of the type of blinding intervention) 6. Analysis of findings (data analyzer becomes blinded to grouping of patients)

inclusion criteria: PrimiGravida 19-35 years Low risk pregnancy: gestational age between 37-42 weeks; singleton pregnancy; cephalic presentation; no prior medical or surgical complication; height more than 150 cm Having 3-4 cm cervical dilatation Exclusion criteria: No intention to participating in the study Having analgesic drugs 3 hours prior to or during intervention Induction or augmentation of labor

1- Auricular acupressure 2- body acupressure 3- control with routine care

The severity of labor pain in the active phase of the first stage of labor; the duration of the active phase of the first stage of labor

Block Randomization method used to random assignment of participants among groups. ّّّFor this purpose, Assignment sequence will be written. Given that the three groups will be studied, 6 blocks are used. Each letter is assigned to a group (e.g. A: auricular acupressure, B: body acupressure, C: control with routine care). In this way, all possible states that 6 patients can be split evenly between three treatments are written and numbered as below: 1-AABBCC 2-ABACBC 3-AABCBC 4- BAABCC 5- CBACBA 6- … The next step is to select randomly amongst these different blocks for each group of six participants that are recruited. The random selection will be done using a list of random numbers generated using statistical software SPSS. By writing the contents of the blocks for those numbers (as long as the prescribed sample size is obtained), the random allocation sequence is determined. For example, if the numbers obtained are 4, 1, 1, 3 and ..., the assignment sequence will be as follows: BAABCC AABBCC AABBCC AABCBC Then, in the opaque sealed envelopes, the type of intervention is written by the assignment sequence and envelopes are encoded. Questionnaires are also encoded in sequence. In this case, the questionnaire with the same code will be completed for the person receiving the code 1 intervention.

In the present study, due to the type of intervention, there is no possibility of the participant blindness and the person providing the intervention. However, to observe blindness when collecting information, one of the contributors performs the intervention plan and the other partner who does not know about the intervention will collect the data. Finally, after analyzing the questionnaires and entering them in SPSS-16, data analysis will be done. After analyzing data, the group code will be specified. Therefore, the person analyzing the findings of the study will also be blind to this grouping.

Information about the original outcome is shared

starting 6 months after publication

All researchers in the field of health and medical science can apply for data.

A new analysis of the data can only be done by explaining the reasons for the request for such an analysis and with the knowledge of the researcher

To receive the data, you can contact the person responsible for this clinical trial (Zainab Alimoradi) at z.alimoradi@qums.ac.ir.

After receiving the application for having a data file and obtaining permission from the university vice chancellor, the data file is shared.