Effect of auricular acupressure for postpartum XXXX : an uncontrolled clinical trial.

@entity1 @entity25 @entity22
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of auricular acupressure therapy on @entity1 with postpartum @entity22 . BACKGROUND: Postpartum @entity1 generally have poor @entity25 because of frequent night-time breastfeeding during the first month after giving birth. DESIGN: A one-group pretest/post-test quasi-experiment was conducted. METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used to recruit @entity1 at a postpartum centre (doing-the-month centre) in Northern Taiwan, from January 2014-July 2014. Thirty @entity1 with postpartum @entity22 received auricular acupressure therapy on one auricular point (Shenmen point pressing) four times a day for 14  days. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess @entity25 before and after the 14-day treatment. RESULTS: After the 14-day auricular acupressure treatment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index total scores of the @entity1 decreased from 8  7 (pretest) to 5  57 (post-test, 36% reduction). Scores on the subscales of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, including @entity25 , sleep latency, sleep duration and @entity25 , also statistically improved (p  <  0  05). CONCLUSIONS: Hormone changes and frequent breastfeeding were identified as characteristics that may exacerbate poor @entity25 of postpartum @entity1 , for  whom the auricular acupressure intervention may effectively improve @entity25 . RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Auricular acupressure can be an alternative complementary therapy to aid postpartum @entity1 with @entity22 in improving @entity25 .
