Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for postpartum hypogalactia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Author:

Bao Qiong-NanORCID,Yin Zi-Han,Zhou Yuan-Fang,Li Ya-Qin,Zhang Xin-Yue,Xia Man-Ze,Chen Zheng-Hong,Zhong Wan-Qi,Yao Jin,Wu Ke-Xin,Zhang Zhen-Yong,Xu Shao-Jun,Liang Fan-RongORCID

Abstract

Background Postpartum hypogalactia (PH) is prominent during lactation and may negatively impact the mother’s or infant’s health. Acupuncture is widely used to increase maternal breast milk production. However, the effects of acupuncture on PH remain unclear. Therefore, this review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in individuals with PH. Materials and methods Articles on potentially eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for PH published from database inception to October 2023 were retrieved from the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, EBSCO, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, WanFang, and VIP databases. Two reviewers independently screened the records, extracted essential information, and evaluated the methodological quality of the RCTs using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias (RoB) tool. The primary outcome was a change in serum prolactin (PRL) levels before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included milk secretion volume (MSV), total effective rate (TER), mammary fullness degree (MFD), and exclusive breastfeeding rate (EBR). Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan v5.4. Finally, the quality of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool. Results This study included 19 RCTs involving 2,400 participants. The included studies were classified as having an unclear to high RoB. Our findings indicated that, overall, acupuncture showed a significant effect in increasing serum PRL levels (standardized mean differences [SMDs] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50, 1.68), MSV (SMD = 1.69, 95% CI: 0.53, 2.86), TER (relative risk [RR] = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.42), and EBR (RR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.78) compared to that in the control group; however, no difference in MFD (SMD = 1.17, 95% CI: –0.09, 2.42) was observed. In the subgroup analysis, acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs or conventional treatment was significantly more effective in increasing serum PRL levels, MSV, and TER than did Chinese herbs or conventional treatment alone. Moreover, acupuncture alone resulted in significantly higher serum PRL levels compared to Chinese herbs; however, this benefit was not observed for TER and MFD. The quality of evidence was critically low. Conclusion Acupuncture may effectively increase milk secretion in women with PH. However, owing to the low quality of evidence, further rigorously designed studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

Funder

Central Financial Transfer Payment to Local Projects in 2022 of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Reference66 articles.

1. The efficacy of diet supplemented with Lepidium sativum (Chandrashoor) on expressed breast milk volume in hypogalactic mothers—An open-label noncross-over randomized trial;M Ranade;Ayu,2021

2. Guideline: Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding in Facilities Providing Maternity and Newborn Services. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017.

3. WHO. Global breastfeeding scorecard, 2018: Enabling women to breastfeed through better policies and programmes. 2018;July: 8. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-breastfeeding-scorecard-2018-enabling-women-to-breastfeed-through-better-policies-and-programmes..

4. Promoting the practice of exclusive breastfeeding: a philosophic scoping review;TB Amoo;BMC Pregnancy Childbirth,2022

5. Breastfeeding-oriented education for parturients separated from their hospitalized infants: a qualitative study of nurses’ perspectives in Shanghai, China;H Feng;BMC Pregnancy Childbirth,2022

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3