Moxibustion did not have an effect in a randomised clinical trial for version of breech position.

INTRODUCTION

In Chinese traditional medicine, the stimulation of acupuncture point no. 67 - the bladder meridian - is recommended to favour cephalic version in case of foetal breech presentation. The point can be stimulated by an acupuncture needle, ginger application, fingertip pressure, laser or moxibustion; moxibustion is heat generated by a burning stick containing the herb Artemisia vulgaris. A Cochrane review concluded that more research on the effectiveness of moxibustion is needed. This study aimed to estimate the effectiveness of moxibustion for version of breech presentation.

METHODS

We included 200 women in gestational week 33 who had a singleton foetus in breech position. They were randomised to moxibustion treatment daily for two weeks or control without moxibustion. The randomisation was performed for nulliparous and parous women separately.

RESULTS

After the trial, which lasted on average 16 days, the breech position was confirmed in 68 of the 92 nulliparous and in 50 of the 108 parous women (74% versus 46%, p < 0.01); furthermore, cephalic position was verified in 76 women and other positions in six women. No significant difference regarding the incidence of breech position was found in the moxibustion group compared with the control group (risk ratio (RR) = 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8-1.38); nor in nulliparous (RR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.77-1.76) or in parous women (RR = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.69-1.46); an RR > 1 favours moxibustion).

CONCLUSIONS

No significant effects of moxibustion were found in correcting the breech position in primiparous and parous women after their 33rd gestational week.

FUNDING

none.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02251886.