Giving birth in a virtual reality environment is now possible in Drenthe. Verloskundig Centrum Assen uses VR glasses to reduce pain during childbirth.
BirthVR is called the system and is an innovative method of pain relief during childbirth. When you put on the VR glasses, you enter a relaxing environment. Due to the relaxation and distraction, fewer pain stimuli are sent to the brain. The pain is not gone, but you feel it less strongly, that’s the idea.
With the glasses on you end up in an environment that you can choose yourself, explains Lotte Brongers, the owner of the Midwifery Center Assen. “You can choose from an environment in the mountains, the beach or an underwater environment.” According to Brongers, there is no favorite, because all three environments work well with women who have tried it.
If the experience becomes too overwhelming, that is not a problem according to Brongers. “As soon as it becomes too much, the woman is usually ready for expulsion. That is only at the end of the delivery,” she says. That is why most women take off the glasses.
Many women receive guidance from a midwife during their delivery. This happens both at home and in the hospital. Fighting pain is the most common reason women are transferred from an obstetrician to a gynecologist during childbirth. “In the hospital you often get medication when you are referred to a gynaecologist. You can get side effects from this,” says Brongers.
The VR glasses can therefore serve as an alternative way of pain relief. According to Brongers, there are even more benefits to BirthVR. “In addition to having less pain, you also have less anxiety. You can also wear it at home and in the hospital.”
BirthVR also speaks, now only by a female voice. According to Brongers, this will change. “From May, a male voice will also be added to the application,” says Brongers. Meditation exercises will also be added that month, with which you can prepare for childbirth.