New York - Pregnant women who experience exceptionally severe morning sickness may benefit from acupuncture in addition to standard treatment, researchers in Sweden report.

In a study of 33 pregnant women, only 7 of 17 women were still vomiting 3 days after acupuncture compared with 12 of 16 women who received a sham acupuncture treatment, according to findings published in the October issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

While 50% to 80% of women experience nausea or some vomiting in pregnancy, 1% to 2% of women have sickness so severe - often around the clock - that they end up losing weight, becoming dehydrated and being hospitalised.

In the study, the active acupuncture treatment consisted of deep needle insertion about 2 inches above the wrist on both arms at the PC6 point. Acupuncture in this region has been found to reduce nausea in patients taking painkillers after an operation, Dr Christer Carlsson of University Hospital in Lund, and colleagues explain.

Women who received the sham treatment had a superficial needle insertion 4 inches above the wrist on both forearms. Both groups of women had 2 days of the experimental treatments at the beginning or the end of a week in hospital in addition to traditional treatments, which include bedrest, antinausea drugs and intravenous fluids.

The severity of nausea and the frequency of vomiting decreased more quickly with active acupuncture than with the sham treatment, regardless of when standard medical treatment was received, the report indicates.

The finding confirms prior reports of the effectiveness of various acupuncture techniques "against different types of nausea/vomiting,'' Carlsson and colleagues write. The effects of active acupuncture could be seen "often within minutes of stimulation,'' the authors add.

(From Reuters)