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Wong studied 40 first-time moms for the trial, checking their vitals and pain levels as they used the VR headset for up to 30 minutes during the labor process.

\"If this is proven by data again and again to be beneficial, then it becomes something that women who believe they could benefit from it can use,\" she said, noting other labor options at Cedars-Sinai include birthing balls, aromatherapy and birthing tubs.

One of the only other studies on VR during labor, released this summer, looked at 27 women using VR headsets with non-pregnancy specific visual and auditory guides.

\"Labor is a very specific pain and it's different than other areas of hospital treatment because it can last for hours,\" said David Frey, a board-certified anesthesiologist and one of the study's co-authors. \"VR affects the brain and response in different ways than classic types of distraction because it's more immersive and therefore takes up more attentional resources.\"

The study's authors concluded that VR is a \"potentially effective technique for improving pain and anxiety during labor,\" but more research needs to be done, notes another co-author, Melissa Bauer, a professor and obstetric anesthesiologist at the University of Michigan, where the study was based.

\"This was a pilot study so [women] only used the intervention for 10 minutes,\" she said. \"How to use it is still to be determined, whether you want to use it continuously throughout the labor progress or take it on and off or use as an adjunct therapy or solely by itself.\"

\"Some patients may get bored with it and get fatigue and some patients who are prone to motion sickness may have nausea using it,\" Bauer said of other possible side effects to be considered.

\"PHOTO:
Kai Wiechmann/Getty Images, STOCK PHOTO
PHOTO: Girl wearing immersive Virtual Reality mask.
>

Bauer points out that the epidural that a majority of women choose to use for pain management during childbirth is also a safety feature for them. If a woman requires an emergency C-section, doctors use the epidural catheter to quickly provide anesthesia.

That would be missing for women who choose a drug-free option like VR.

\"Our main goal is to keep the baby and mom safe,\" Bauer said. \"[Doctors] want to see good, strong evidence when they’re going to use something on a pregnant person, which is reasonable.\"

Bauer and Frey both said they believe the popularity of VR for women in labor will depend on how quickly content makers see the market demand and create the pregnancy-specific content that will be the most beneficial.

They both also noted they hope that female content-makers step in to help fill the void.

\"The cost of hardware is decreasing and the level of immersion is increasing and coming in easy mobile packages that would be easy to use and intuitive for first-time users,\" said Frey. \"It really depends on the creation of new content at this point.\"

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