Birth depression | Institute of Psychology, The Faculty of Social Sciences

Client: Institute of Psychology, The Faculty of Social Sciences
Partners: Københavns Universitet, Region Hovedstadens Psykiatri – The Neurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorders (NEAD) Group.

Target Medium: Pico & HTC Vive Pro Eye

Postpartum depression, birth depression, is a mental condition which affects 15% of all women after they give birth. In collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, Capital Region Psychiatry, Khora VR is investigating the possibility of screening pregnant women before birth using Virtual Reality, to find indications of which of these women are at risk of developing a postpartum depression. By screening the women before birth, and identifying which are at risk of developing postpartum depression, it will potentially be possible to carry out preventive interventions, thereby reducing or perhaps eliminating the risk of developing postpartum depression.

After the screening, there is an intervention where Virtual Reality is used as a tool to discover whether the woman can be helped to regulate their emotional response to baby-related situations, such as e.g. a crying or a laughing baby, here they are instructed in how to take control of their attention and their emotions, with the aim of minimizing the risk of postpartum depression.