Acupuncture for perceived stress in pregnant women: an intervention study

• Autor(a) principal: da Costa,Nicolau
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Silva Martins,Eveliny, Pinheiro,Ana Karina Bezerra, Soares,Paula Renata Amorim Lessa, de Souza Aquino,Priscila, Castro,Régia Christina Moura Barbosa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0080-62342022000100454
• topic: Pregnant Women; Psychological Distress; Acupuncture; Complementary Therapies; Obstetric Nursing

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the effects of acupuncture in the treatment of perceived stress in pregnant women. Method: A before-after intervention study, carried out in a primary health unit in Fortaleza-Ceará, with 56 pregnant women. The pregnant women underwent six acupuncture sessions, with two 30-minute sessions per week. Before the first session, an instrument to collect sociodemographic, clinical, and obstetric data was applied. The Global Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10) was applied weekly to monitor the progression of stress during treatment. Results: After the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the scores of the following scale items: being upset, inability to control, nervousness, tiredness, anger, and inability to overcome stress. (p < 0.05). There was a significant increase in the score of the item control of situations (p = 0.003). There was a significant difference in the mean perceived stress of the initial session compared to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd week sessions (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The use of acupuncture to treat stress during pregnancy reduced the stress perceived by pregnant women.