In a study of 386 pregnant women published in the British medical Journal the usual physiotherapy treatment for pelvic pain (a pelvic belt, patient education and home exercises) was compared to standard treatment plus acupuncture and standard treatment plus extra physiotherapy stabilizing exercises. Treatment was given over 6 weeks
Pain was measured by a visual analogue scale and by an independent examiner before and after treatment. Their conclusion was that “Acupuncture was superior to stabilizing exercises in the management of pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy, with acupuncture the treatment of choice for patients with one sided sacroiliac pain, one sided sacroiliac pain combined with symphysis pubis pain and bilateral sacroiliac pain”.
Elden H, Ladfors l, Fagevik Olsen M, Ostaard H, Hagberg H. Effects of acupuncture and stabilising exercises as adjunct to standard treatment in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain: randomised singleblind controlled trail. BMJ 2005;330:761.

593 women who were less than 14 weeks pregnant suffering nausea and vomiting were randomized into 4 groups (an acupuncture group who received a traditional acupuncture diagnosis, an acupuncture group that received acupuncture at a single point, a sham acupuncture group and a control group that received no treatment)
The outcomes of treatment were measured in terms of nausea, dry retching, vomiting and health status.
While all acupuncture groups reported improvement with nausea and dry retching, it was the traditional acupuncture group that had the fastest response.
Patients receiving traditional acupuncture also reported improvement in five aspects of general health status (vitality, social function, physical function, mental health and emotional role function) when compared to improvement in two aspects in the other groups
This study followed up on the pregnancy outcomes for all women receiving treatment. Data was collected on perinatal outcome, congenital abnormalities, pregnancy complications and problems of the newborn.
No differences were found between study groups in the incidence of these outcomes suggesting that there are no serious adverse effects from the use of acupuncture treatment in early pregnancy.
The authors concluded that “Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for women who experience nausea and dry retching in early pregnancy”.
Smith C, Crowther C, Beilby J. Acupuncture to treat nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a randomized trial. Birth.2002, Mar:29 (1):1-9.
Smith C, Crowther C, Beilby J. Pregnancy outcome following women’s participation in a randomised controlled trial of acupuncture to treat nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Complement Ther Med. 2002 Jun; 10(2):78-83.

In 1994 the following research was published in Journal of American Association (JAMA) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxibustion on Zhiyin BL-67 to correct breech presentation.
130 women with a breech presentation and having their first baby at 33 weeks gestation received moxibustion while 130 women, also with a breech presentation and who were also primigravidas, received no intervention.
The moxibustion was administered for seven days. Women were then assessed and a further seven days of moxibustion treatment given if the baby’s position had not changed.
Outcomes were measured in terms of foetal movements, as counted by the mother for one hour each day for one week, and the number of cephalic presentations both at 35 weeks gestation and at delivery.
At 35 weeks gestation 75.4% in the intervention group had changed to cephalic (47.7% in the control). In terms of foetal movement the moxibustion group experienced a greater number of movements (a mean of 48.45 compared to the control group with a mean of 35.35).
The Authors concluded “That in prigravidas at 33 weeks gestation with breechpresentation, moxibustion treatment for one to two weeks at Zhiyin BL-67 increased foetal activity during the treatment period and cephalic presentation at 35 weeks and at delivery”.
Cardini F, Weixin H. Moxibustion for correction of breech presentation. JAMA 1998; 280:1580-1584

Research on the use of acupuncture to prepare women for labour first appeared in 1974 with a study by Kubista and Kucera. Their research concluded that acupuncture once a week from 37 weeks gestation was successful in reducing the mean labor time of the women treated (acupuncture group, labor time 6 hours and 36 minutes compared to eight hours and 2 minutes in the control).
In 1998 research Zeisler used the acupuncture points treating from 36 weeks gestation. Concluding that acupuncture treatment had a positive effect on the duration of labor by shortening the first stage of labor, defined as the time between 3cm cervical dilation and complete dilation (acupuncture group a median duration of 196 minutes compared to the control group time of 321 minutes)
An observation study by Betts and Lenox in 2004 looked at the effect of using prebirth acupuncture on 169 women as part of their routine antenatal care.
In the acupuncture group there was an overall 35% reduction in the number of inductions (for women having their first baby this was a 43% reduction) and a 31% reduction in the epidural rate when compared to the local population. When comparing midwifery only care there was a 32% reduction in emergency caesarean delivery and a 9% increase in normal vaginal births.
The authors concluded that prebirth acupuncture appeared to provide some promising therapeutic benefits in assisting women to have normal vaginal births and that a further randomized controlled study is warranted.
Kubista E, Kucera H. Geburtshilfe Perinatol 1974; 178 224-9. 
Zeisler H, Tempfer C, Mayerhofe Kr, Barrada M, Husslein P. Influence of acupuncture on duration of labour Gynecol Obstet Invest 1998; 46:22-5. 
Betts D, Lennox S. Acupuncture for prebirth treatment: An observational study of its use in midwifery practice. Medical acupuncture 2006 May; 17(3):17-20

Research was undertaken to evaluate whether acupuncture at term can influence cervical ripening and thus reduce the need for postdates induction.
On their due dates 45 women were randomized into either an acupuncture group (25) or a control group (20). The acupuncture group received acupuncture every two days.
The women in both groups were examined every other day for cervical length. If women had not delivered after 10 days labour was induced by administering vaginal prostaglandin tablets.
The time from the woman’s due date to delivery was an average of 5 days in the acupuncture group compared to 7.9 days in the control group, and labour was medically induced in 20% of women in the acupuncture group compared to 35% in the control group.
The authors concluded that acupuncture supports cervical ripening and can shorten the time interval between the woman’s expected date of delivery and the actual time of delivery.
Rabl M, Ahner R, Bitschnau M, Zeisler H, Husslein P. Acupuncture for cervical ripening and induction of labour at term – a randomised controlled trail. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2001; 113 (23-24): 942-6.