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Virtual reality to reduce anxiety and pain during invasive prenatal procedures
Noémie Claudel1, Olivia Anselem1, Yoann Athiel1
1Maternité Port-Royal, Groupe Hospitalier Cochin Broca Hôtel-Dieu, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
Objective:
To evaluate the benefit of virtual reality headsets (VRH) to reduce anxiety and pain during invasive antenatal procedures.
Method:
This before-and-after comparative study at the prenatal diagnosis center of Port-Royal Maternity Hospital took place from February through October 2022. Using a self-administered STAI-Y questionnaire (State Trait Anxiety Inventory), it assessed women undergoing chorionic villous sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis, before and after the center began offering these women the use of a VRH. At the same time, we also assessed the pain during the procedure using the VAS (visual analog scale).
Results:
The study included 64 women during the first period, and 32 women who agreed to use the VRH during the second period. The median of the anxiety score was seven points lower with the VRH (46 vs 39, P = 0.001), and the median of the VAS two points lower (5 vs 3, P = 0.001). No women reported VRH side effects, and all would recommend its use.
Conclusion:
Virtual reality use appeared to reduce women's anxiety and pain during invasive prenatal procedures. Its simplicity of use and absence of side effects should lead us to encourage further evaluations this new technology in the care setting.
