VR in childbirth. Research part 2.
Reading about using VR in pain management gave me an idea of researching if VR has ever been used in labour. It came out that it was introduced as an experimental, non-pharmacological method of reducing pain in labouring women in several places around the world.
I decided to read more about these studies and connect them to the recent NHS recommendations in pain management offered to women in labour. Even though VR has some proven effects in reducing the perception of pain, the technology is not mentioned in the official NHS labour pain relief guide. VR as a so-called distraction tool could be added to the recommended pain management methods described as self-help for women in labour.
A positive feedback, the studies I have read about received from beneficents and medical personnel, as well as from VR specialists, suggests that VR in labour should be studied more and potentially offered to labouring women around the globe.
It is worth mentioning that the Indonesian studies offered the experience on VR ready smartphones, whereas Wales based research provided women with top quality VR headsets. Despite such a significant difference, both experiments were successful, and both recognized a positive effect in reducing labour pain while using VR.
The essay I have written based on researching the topic is titled “Virtual Reality as a pain management tool in labour” and was submitted as my assignment.
The topic is especially interesting but also personal to me, as I am expecting a child in the nearest future and hoping to be able to use VR in the early stages of labour, similarly to the women in the studies I was exploring.
1. Pain relief in labour (2020) Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/what-happens/pain-relief-in-labour/. (Accessed 27.04.2021).
2. Husin, F., Rizal Ganiem Hasan Sadikin Hospital, A., Gumilang Pratiw, I. et al (2017) ‘The Effect of Virtual Reality on Pain in Primiparity Women’, International Journal of Nursing and Health Science, 4(4), p.46-50.
3. Kent, C.,(2019) Virtual reality trialled to distract women from pain of childbirth. Available at: https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/news/vr-labour-rescape/ (Accessed 10.05.2021)