The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Pain management during labor: Is there a role for CAM?

    Actually, it hasn’t been studied very much.

    But here’s what we know so far.

    The Cochrane Collaborative found 14 studies worth considering.

    • Five trials of hypnosis in 729 women
    • Three trials of acupuncture in 496 women
    • Two studies using acupressure in 172 women
    • One audio-analgesia study in 24 women
    • One aromatherapy study in 22 women
    • One study of massage in 60 women
    • A relaxation study in 34 women

    And the results

    • Acupuncture appeared to decrease the need for pain relief.
    • The researchers also thought that self-hypnosis might be useful, as it lead to decreased requirements for pharmacological analgesia (including epidural analgesia), and the women were more satisfied with their pain management in labor compared to controls.
    • No much in the other studies.

    1/21/07 13:02 JR

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