Table 2.

Characteristics of the included studies.

References	Country	Sample size	Treatment intervention	Control intervention	Quality assessment	Conclusion
Tong et al. (19)	China	12 (877)	AT; AT+CM	ST; CM	Cochrane criteria	Acupuncture has shown benefit in improving some symptoms of PPD, although the evidence is still inconclusive. High-quality studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for PPD.
Li et al. (20)	China	8 (517)	AT	ST; CM	Cochrane criteria	Acupuncture treatment significantly improved HAMD scores, but had no significant effect on EPDS, clinical response, or serum estradiol levels.
Li et al. (21)	China	9 (653)	AT; AT+CM	ST; CM	Cochrane criteria	Acupuncture appears to be beneficial for PPD, however, the evidence is inconclusive. To confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture in PPD, further high-quality RCTs are needed.
Cao et al. (22)	China	13 (899)	AT	CM	Cochrane criteria	This study found no statistical difference between acupuncture and control groups in reducing HAMD scores and improving clinical effectiveness. Further studies are needed to validate these findings.
Wang et al. (23)	China	14 (934)	AT; AT+CM	ST; CM	Cochrane criteria	Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of PPD, but more high-quality and large sample size RCTs are needed to provide high-quality evidence.
Pang and Shi (24)	China	5 (279)	AT; AT+CM	ST; CM	Jadad	Acupuncture is as effective as CM and more effective than placebo to treat PPD. Acupuncture is safe and effective, although patients might experience fainting and pain during the procedure.

AT, acupuncture therapy; ST, sham acupuncture; CM, conventional medication.