Rapid Responses to:

EDITORIALS: R William Stones and Kathleen Vits Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy BMJ 2005; 331: 249-250 [Full text]

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Rapid Responses published:

Pain Clinics and Acupuncture

Dominic J Aldington   (2 August 2005)

Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy

George T Lewith   (16 August 2005)

Re: Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy

David JR Hutchon   (18 August 2005)

Pain Clinics and Acupuncture 2 August 2005
Dominic J Aldington, Cons Anaes gu16 5uj Send response to journal: Re: Pain Clinics and Acupuncture	At the end of their editorial Stones and Vits state "Those caring for women with pregnancy related pelvic pain now need to press for increased availability of acupuncture." Can I take it that they are convinced that there is no increased risk of acupuncture promoting abortion? This has certainly been a worry for some clinicians in the past although the evidence for such a position is very poor. A second observation is the lack of any mention anywhere for the role of the mulitidisciplinary approach as favoured by many pain clinics and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in their recommendations for pain in obstetrics and gynaecology. Was this omission deliberate or pragmatic given many clinics may have a waiting time in excess of nine months? Competing interests: None declared
Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy 16 August 2005
George T Lewith, Reader in Complementary Medicine Primary Medical Care, University of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton, SO16 5ST Send response to journal: Re: Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy	It appears that acupuncture may provide a safe and effective and method of managing pelvic pain in pregnancy, although clearly more evidence is required. There is no evidence from the literature that acupuncture may precipitate abortion. These suggestions are based on the complete absence of any individual adverse reaction reports concerning acupuncture and abortion as well as two large prospective safety studies carried out in the United Kingdom(1;2). I suspect, however, that this caution about the use of acupuncture will continue to be promulgated by both acupuncturists and others as it seems to part of acupuncture folklore. Reference List 1. White A, Hayhoe S, Hart A, Ernst E. Adverse events following acupuncture: prospective survey of 32,000 consultations with doctors and physiotherapists. BMJ 2001;323:485-6. 2. MacPherson H, Thomas K, Walters S, Fitter M. The York acupuncture safety study: prospective survey of 34,000 treatments by traditional acupuncturists. BMJ 2001;323:486-7. Competing interests: None declared
Re: Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy 18 August 2005
David JR Hutchon, Locum Consultant Obstetrician Grey Base Hospital, Greymouth, New Zealand Send response to journal: Re: Re: Safety of acupuncture in pregnancy	Sir, The correct term which should be used is "miscarriage" when describing accidental pregnancy loss as recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. David Hutchon Competing interests: None declared