Virtual Reality Can Help Women Get Through Childbirth With Less Pain

Back in 2016, Erin Martucci didn’t expect to be among the first women to experience virtual reality during childbirth, she just wanted to deliver her baby girl without epidural, narcotics or any other drugs for the labor pain. However, when her doctor, Ralph Anderson introduced her the equipment, the calming beach scene and the soothing audio giving her breathing instructions really helped her through the most difficult parts of labor. Since then, the technique has picked up steam and has been the subject of scientific studies. One of the most recent ones explored the statistical benefit of using VR for pain reduction in labour and delivery (L&D). The Medical Futurist asked Martucci, Dr. Anderson and the team behind the recent study about what they think about the option of using VR for labor pain. Delivering a baby with VR It was a grey dawn in November 2016, when Erin Martucci woke up with contractions. She got the sense she was close to delivering her second child. At around five-thirty in the morning, she breastfed her firstborn baby boy and went to the hospital with her husband. They were determined to have a natural birth and going completely drug-free. “For my first birth, I did have an epidural, but I wasn’t overall happy with having the side effects of the medication with my baby, because I think it interfered with the bonding experience,” she explained regarding why she decided against the epidural this time. The contractions increased very quickly, and ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Virtual Reality digital health future technology VR pain management gynecology childbirth baby Source Type: blogs