Question Author
Response to Padanarm:
I'm a third year medical student and have done quite well in my education in epidemiology. If one were to set up a case/control study for this, you would have to choose women with the disease/condition (labor) and then match them to controls without the disease/condition (women not in labor). That would not supply you the necessary information. Alternatively, you could suggest choosing "cases" based on their use of acupuncture, but that would not be a case/control study, as you are choosing cases based on exposure, not outcome.
So, please let me know how you would design a case/control study for this and how that would be superior to a cohort study. Thanks!