Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences - Department of Laser Application in Medical and Biological

Objective: To evaluate the utility of outpatient laser acupuncture for labor induction.Design: Randomized controlled single blinded trial to compare active and sham laser acupuncture. Population: A total of 60 nulliparous induced labor at post term. Nulliparous women beyond 42 weeks with a singleton gestation and randomized into two groups: Group I (control group) n=30. versus Group II (study group) n=30, Methods: women treated with sham laser for (control group) and active laser for (study group) over four traditional acupuncture points. Main outcome:The primary outcome was interval from the time of enrollment to delivery. Secondary outcome was the rate of vaginal delivery, caesarean section, adverse reactions, patient satisfaction with low level laser therapy and fetal wellbeing.= Result : Mean time of enrollment to delivery differ between groups (p=0.4). Acupuncture group could proceed to normal vaginal delivery more often than control group ( p = 0.01). Conclusion: Acupuncture is well tolerated among term nulliparous women and holds promise in inducing labor, in post term pregnancies with no apparent fetal compromise

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