Semi-permanent Acupuncture Effect on Cervical Ripening

November 24, 2025 updated by: Consorci Sanitari de l'Alt Penedès i Garraf

Clinical Trial With Two Branches to Study the Effect of Semi-permanent Acupuncture at Specific Acupuncture Points on Reducing the Number of Inductions During Labor in Women at Low or Moderate Risk

Cervical ripening is a medical treatment that can cause physical or emotional discomfort in pregnant women and is not without risks. This is a pilot study to assess feasibility and calculate the number of participants necessary for a complete clinical trial. The aim is to evaluate whether acupuncture can reduce the need for treatment (cervical ripening) in pregnant women at low or intermediate risk. Participants will be divided into two groups: one group will receive acupuncture, and the other will receive a simulated treatment of acupuncture.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
8

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Barcelona
      • Vilafranca del Penedès, Barcelona, Spain, 08720
        • Consorci Sanitari Alt Penedes i Garraf

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Anticipated delivery at the study center.
  • Ability to collaborate in necessary evaluations.
  • Legal capacity to provide informed consent.
  • Signature of the informed consent for inclusion in the study, by oneself.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy with high or very high risk as described by the Pregnancy and Childbirth Monitoring Protocols of the Department of Health of Catalonia
  • History of cesarean delivery.
  • Language barrier preventing collaboration in study procedures.
  • Cognitive or affective pathology limiting the ability to collaborate with study procedures.
  • Participation in another clinical trial involving an experimental intervention during the period of this trial and/or establishing a visit frequency incompatible with this trial.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Acupuncture
This group will receive sessions the study intervention (semi-permanent acupuncture)
Other: Semi-permanent acupuncture
These are sessions that last approximately one hour. The selection of points will be based on the energy diagnosis made during the first visit. In some cases, a point may be changed depending on progress. During the session, an interrogation will be conducted to assess symptoms and signs of the condition, and to evaluate if there have been any adverse reactions to the previous session. At the end of the visit, semi-permanent acupuncture will be applied to the selected points.
Sham Comparator: Control
This group will receive a sham treatment of semi-permanent acupuncture
Other: Sham of semi-permanent acupuncture
A simulated semi-permanent acupuncture session will be conducted, consisting of specific placebo materials without needles and without stimulation for a few minutes. These points will not correspond to any acupuncture point and will be located on the hands, feet, and back. Stickers without pins will be applied, but never in critical points related to contraction stimulation or cervical ripening.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pharmacological induction
Time Frame: Birth date
Percentage of pregnant women who have undergone pharmacological induction to initiate labor.
Birth date

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change on score of Bishop scale
Time Frame: Birth date
Change from the initial obstetric assessment (weeks 36 to 38 of gestation) to the day of admission for delivery in the total score of the Bishop scale
Birth date
Onset of spontaneous labor
Time Frame: Birth date
Time in days until the onset of spontaneous labor from the first follow-up visit.
Birth date
Duration of induction period Duration of the induction period Duration of the induction period Duration of the induction period
Time Frame: Birth date
Time in hours from the administration of medication for induction to the onset of labor.
Birth date
Duration of labor period
Time Frame: Birth date
Time in hours of labor period
Birth date
Satisfaction of pregnants
Time Frame: Birth date
Degree of satisfaction with the care provided, measured by conducting the Birth Satisfaction Scale Revised survey
Birth date

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Consorci Sanitari de l'Alt Penedès i Garraf

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Gloria Villena, CSAPG

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 22, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 16, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 19, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 5, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 5, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 10, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 24, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CSAPG-40

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

IPD (without personal identification data) could be shared by requirement from other researchers after the end of the study, and only for research purposes and previous approval of promotor center of the study (CSAPG). Anyway, Spanish and European Union legal policy about data protection will strictly be followed (IPD will not be transferred outside European Union).

IPD Sharing Time Frame

After publication of main results of the study.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

IPD will be shared only for scientific research purposes and following the Spanish and European Union normative law about data protection. The requirements will be directed to the IP of the study. The IP will evaluate the request to verify and evaluate the data that is requested and the purposes for which it is requested. Next, the IP will transfer the request to the promotor center the study for the final decision.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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