Auricular bean embedding improves urination in epidural labor analgesia: A single center randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND: Acupoint buried beans on the auricle is a feasible method to prevent and treat postpartum urinary retention. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of auricular acupoint buried beans on postpartum urination and maternal and fetal outcomes following epidural analgesia for labor. METHODS: Two hundred forty primiparas underwent vaginal trial labor analgesia from May 2020 to January 2021 and were randomly placed into the intervention and control groups. Both groups received epidural labor analgesia. Maternal urination during labor, 2 h postpartum, and the time for first postpartum urination were recorded as primary outcomes, with maternal and infant outcomes documented as secondary results. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent sample [Formula: see text]-test, non-parametric rank-sum, or chi-square test using the SPSS Statistics 25.0 software. RESULTS: Two hundred eight study participants were subsequently included in the results, i.e., 105 patients in the intervention group and 103 in the control group. The intervention group comprised a significantly lower number of patients with excessive residual urine volume at cervical dilatation of 5–6 cm ([Formula: see text] 0.05). The total postpartum score of the intervention group was lower than in the control group ([Formula: see text] 0.01), and the time to first urination was shorter compared with the control group ([Formula: see text] 0.05). In the intervention group, the time of labor analgesia, the duration of the first stage of labor, and the total labor time were shorter compared with the control group ([Formula: see text] 0.01). CONCLUSION: Auricular acupoint embedded beans can improve the urination status at cervical dilatation of 5–6 cm and 2 h postpartum, as well as significantly shorten the duration of labor.