Effect of audio-visual therapy on pain and anxiety in labor: A randomized controlled trial
Birth pain affects women at a physical and psychological level. Pain is subjective, and perception will vary among individuals depending on their health status, pain tolerance, and psychological state. Labor pain can drastically affect the birth process and delivery outcomes if not managed well, ran...
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Published in | European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X Vol. 20; p. 100240 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elsevier B.V
01.12.2023
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Birth pain affects women at a physical and psychological level. Pain is subjective, and perception will vary among individuals depending on their health status, pain tolerance, and psychological state. Labor pain can drastically affect the birth process and delivery outcomes if not managed well, ranging from poor maternal satisfaction and impaired maternal-newborn bonding to prolonged labor and fetal distress. Since pharmacological pain relief methods harm the fetus, non-pharmacological pain relief methods are gaining popularity among laboring women and healthcare professionals.
The study aimed to evaluate the effect of audio-visual therapy on labor pain and maternal anxiety.
A randomized, controlled, open-label, single-center trial was conducted among 76 primigravida women with no obstetrical complications during the active phase of labor (4–8 cm cervical dilatation). The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving 50 min of virtual reality intervention or a control group receiving standard care using a computer-generated random sequence. The data related to pain and anxiety were collected using the personal information form, anxiety assessment scale for pregnant women in labor, present behavioral intensity scale, numerical pain rating scale, and post-delivery birth satisfaction checklist.
Groups were homogenous in terms of demographic and obstetric variables. The virtual reality intervention reduced the experimental group's reported pain intensity and anxiety score. However, no statistically significant difference was noted in maternal vital signs and labor and neonatal outcomes between the groups.
The virtual reality intervention reduced labor pain intensity and anxiety among laboring women compared to standard care.
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•Pharmacological methods of pain relief have side effects.•The effectiveness of non-pharmacological methods such as analgesics and anxiolytics needs more evidence.•Audio-visual therapy is a cost-effective, practical, and highly effective intervention.•Audio-visual therapy was effective in reducing labor pain and anxiety.•Audio-visual therapy is a practical and self-administered intervention that can be implemented in any setting for pain relief. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 0000–0002-5066–904X Present Affiliation: Nursing Officer, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110608, India Postal Address. College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751019, India Associate Professor, College of Nursing, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar 0000–0001-7597–0253 |
ISSN: | 2590-1613 2590-1613 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.eurox.2023.100240 |