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Newborn; VitalityNCT06323551

The Effect of Mother's Smell and Breast Milk Smell on Pain

A study testing Mother's Smell and Mother's Breast Milk Smell in people with Newborn; Vitality and Pain, run by Tarsus University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The research was planned as a randomized controlled study to investigate the effect of breast milk smell and mother's smell applied while heel blood was taken to term babies in the Mersin City EAH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between October and December 2023, on acute pain and crying duration. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 1 day to 15 days
Conditions the study is for
Newborn; Vitality, Pain, Crying
What is being tested?
Mother's Smell and Mother's Breast Milk Smell
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
90 participants
Where
1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
Study dates
14 Mar 2024to 24 Mar 2025
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 1 day to 15 days
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Term newborns receiving treatment in Mersin City Training and Research Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Service,
  • Postnatal 1-15. Newborns on their day,
  • Newborns who have not previously used any pharmacological or non-pharmacological method for pain management,
  • Newborns with an Apgar score of 8 points or more at the 1st and 5th minutes,
  • Not having undergone a surgical procedure,
  • Does not have any health problems,
  • Patients whose families approve the informed consent form.

Who cannot join

  • Born before 37 weeks of gestation, receiving treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Service at Mersin City Training and Research Hospital,
  • Sedation area
  • Except for major congenital anomaly
  • Older than the 15th postnatal day,
  • Having a major anomaly or disease detected antenatally,
  • Patients with comorbid diseases such as perinatal asphyxia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, congenital heart disease and similar diseases,
  • Patients whose families do not give consent will not be included in the study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
  • Tarsus State Hospital

    Mersin

Other trials in Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

Official title: The Effect of Mother's Smell and Breast Milk Smell on Pain and Crying Time During Heel Blood Collection in Newborns

The research was planned as a randomized controlled study to investigate the effect of breast milk smell and mother's smell applied while heel blood was taken to term babies in the Mersin City EAH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between October and December 2023, on acute pain and crying duration. During the heel prick procedure, which is routinely performed in the neonatal intensive care unit, no pharmacological/non-pharmacological method will be applied to the control group to reduce the baby's pain before, during and after the heel prick. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.

In the study group that will be made to smell the mother's scent; The mother of each baby whose heel blood will be taken will be given a specially made cover made of 100% cotton yarn, sterilized the day before, and the mother will be asked to put the cover on her bare skin (on her bare skin) after the shower and to keep the cover on the mother's chest for one night (8 hours). It will be placed 15 cm away from the baby and smelled 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the heel prick attempt. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.

Read the detailed description

The research was planned as a randomized controlled study to investigate the effect of breast milk smell and mother's smell applied while heel blood was taken to term babies in the Mersin City EAH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between October and December 2023, on acute pain and crying duration.

The population of the research will consist of all-term babies followed in the Mersin Şehir EAH neonatal intensive care unit.

As a result of Power analysis (G*Power 3.1.9.2) based on Akcan and Polat's (2015) study titled "The effect of breast milk, amniotic fluid and lavender scent on pain during invasive procedures in newborns"; In the evaluation made according to the NIPS score, when the Effect Size was taken as 0.619, the minimum number of samples for each group determined for Power: 0.95 was determined as 28 newborns. Considering the case losses, it was planned to include 30 newborns in each group.

Randomization: In the study, 60 newborns in the sample will be randomly assigned to the control and breast milk scent groups. Random assignments will be made using a computer program to determine the group in which the newborns will be placed (https://www.randomlists.com/team-generator).

During the heel prick procedure, which is routinely performed in the neonatal intensive care unit, no pharmacological/non-pharmacological method will be applied to the control group to reduce the baby's pain before, during, and after the heel prick. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.

In the study group that will be made to smell the mother's scent; The mother of each baby whose heel blood will be taken will be given a specially made cover made of 100% cotton yarn, sterilized the day before, and the mother will be asked to put the cover on her bare skin (on her bare skin) after the shower and to keep the cover on the mother's chest for one night (8 hours). It will be placed 15 cm away from the baby and smelled 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the heel prick attempt. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.

In the study group that will be made to smell the scent of breast milk, the procedures for the scent of the mother will be carried out in the same way, and 20 drops of each baby's own mother's milk will be dropped onto the diaper. The cover, which has the scent of breast milk, will be placed 15 cm away from the baby and allowed to smell it from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after the heel prick blood collection attempt. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.

During the study, all factors that may affect the pain level of babies in the intervention and control groups will be standardized. In this context, attention will be paid to factors such as ensuring that the procedure is performed when the baby is not crying, applying a 2-minute waiting period if the baby is crying, and ensuring that the heel blood is taken by experienced and always the same nurse.

Being tested
Mother's Smell, Mother's Breast Milk Smell
Keywords
Crying Time, pain, newborn
Medical subject headings
Pain, Crying

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Mother's SmellOther

    The mother of each baby whose heel blood will be taken will be given a specially made cover made of 100% cotton yarn, sterilized the day before, and the mother will be asked to put the cover on her bare skin (on her bare skin) after the shower and to keep the cover on the mother's chest for one night (8 hours). one).

  • Mother's Breast Milk SmellOther

    In the study group that will be made to smell the scent of breast milk, the procedures for the scent of the mother will be carried out in the same way, and 20 drops of each baby's own mother's milk will be dropped onto the diaper.

Study groups in NCT06323551
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Mother's SmellExperimentalIn the study group that will be made to smell the mother's scent; The mother of each baby whose heel blood will be taken will be given a specially made cover made of 100% cotton yarn, sterilized the day before, and the mother will be asked to put the cover on her bare skin (on her bare skin) after the shower and to keep the cover on the mother's chest for one night (8 hours). one). It will be placed 15 cm away from the baby and smelled 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the heel prick attempt (1,4). The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.
Receives: Other: Mother's Smell
Mother's Breast Milk SmellExperimentalIn the study group that will be made to smell the scent of breast milk, the procedures for the scent of the mother will be carried out in the same way, and 20 drops of each baby's own mother's milk will be dropped onto the diaper (4). The cover, which has the scent of breast milk, will be placed 15 cm away from the baby and allowed to smell it from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after the heel prick blood collection attempt. The baby's pain score will be evaluated by the observing nurse according to the NIPS pain scale 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.
Receives: Other: Mother's Breast Milk Smell
ControlNo interventionRoutine care will be provided to the control group and no intervention will be applied.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Neonatal Infant Pain Scale

    The Neonatal Infant Pain Scale was developed at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The Scale assesses six behavioral indicators in response to painful procedures in preterm newborns.The total score varies between 0 and 7 points, and a higher score indicates more pain

    Measured: 1 day

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. criying time

    During the procedure, crying time will be measured with a stopwatch.

    Measured: 1 day

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Mar 2024
  2. Study start14 Mar 2024
  3. Primary completion23 Sep 2024
  4. Study completion24 Mar 2025

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
randomized controlled
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
90 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06323551
Sponsor's protocol ID
2023/50
Status last verified
Apr 2025
First submitted
14 Mar 2024
Last updated
15 Apr 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Kucuk Alemdar D, Kardas Ozdemir F. Effects of Having Preterm Infants Smell Amniotic Fluid, Mother's Milk, and Mother's Odor During Heel Stick Procedure on Pain, Physiological Parameters, and Crying Duration. Breastfeed Med. 2017 Jun;12:297-304. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2017.0006. Epub 2017 Apr 17.

    PubMed 28414516
  • Gellrich J, Breuer AS, Han P, Guducu C, Hummel T, Schriever VA. Central Nervous System Processing of Floral Odor and Mother's Milk Odor in Infants. Chem Senses. 2021 Jan 1;46:bjab024. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjab024.

    PubMed 34003211
  • 3. Yigit, S., Ecevit, A., & Koroglu, O. A. (2018). Guidelines for pain and treatment in the newborn period. Turkish Neonatology Association, 53, 161-171.

  • Cakirli M, Acikgoz A. A Randomized Controlled Trial: The Effect of Own Mother's Breast Milk Odor and Another Mother's Breast Milk Odor on Pain Level of Newborn Infants. Breastfeed Med. 2021 Jan;16(1):75-81. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2020.0222. Epub 2020 Oct 20.

    PubMed 33085532
  • 5. Çöçelli, L. P., Bacaksız, B. D., & Ovayolu, N. (2008). The nurse factor in pain therapy. European Journal of Therapeutics, 14(2), 53-58.

  • Lan HY, Yang L, Lin CH, Hsieh KH, Chang YC, Yin T. Breastmilk as a Multisensory Intervention for Relieving Pain during Newborn Screening Procedures: A Randomized Control Trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 10;18(24):13023. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182413023.

    PubMed 34948633
  • Beker F, Opie G, Noble E, Jiang Y, Bloomfield FH. Smell and Taste to Improve Nutrition in Very Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Neonatology. 2017;111(3):260-266. doi: 10.1159/000450883. Epub 2016 Dec 1.

    PubMed 27902988
  • Baudesson de Chanville A, Brevaut-Malaty V, Garbi A, Tosello B, Baumstarck K, Gire C. Analgesic Effect of Maternal Human Milk Odor on Premature Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Hum Lact. 2017 May;33(2):300-308. doi: 10.1177/0890334417693225. Epub 2017 Mar 27.

    PubMed 28346843
  • 9. Akcan E. Yenidoğanlarda Topuk Kanı Alma Sırasında Oluşan Ağrıya Amniyotik Sıvı, Anne Sütü Ve Lavanta Kokusunun Etkisi (tez). Kayseri: Erciyes Üniversitesi; 2014.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Mother's Smell and Mother's Breast Milk Smell in people with Newborn; Vitality and Pain, run by Tarsus University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (time frame: 1 day). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06323551, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Apr 2025.

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