NewbornNCT07773792
The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress During Heel Prick Testing in Newborns
A study testing Music Therapy and Maternal Voice in people with Newborn and Maternal Voice, run by Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
During the adaptation process to the extrauterine environment, healthy newborns face procedures such as hepatitis B vaccination, vitamin K injection, blood sugar monitoring, bilirubin or metabolic disease screening. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 0 to 40 daysHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Newborn, Maternal Voice, Music Therapy
- What is being tested?
- Music Therapy and Maternal Voice
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 80 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 29 Jul 2026to 1 Sep 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 0 to 40 days
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Newborns within the first 24-48 hours after birth or 7-14 days old
- At least 2 hours after the last painful intervention
- Children whose parents agreed to participate in the study were included.
Who cannot join
- Presence of hearing impairment
- Absence of Parental Consent Form
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
Bilecik Seyh Edebali University
Bilecik, Turkey, 11230
Fulya KOS, 05300974816, fulya.kos@bilecik.edu.tr
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress During Heel Prick Testing in Newborns: A Randomised Controlled Trial
During the adaptation process to the extrauterine environment, healthy newborns face procedures such as hepatitis B vaccination, vitamin K injection, blood sugar monitoring, bilirubin or metabolic disease screening. Heel prick blood sampling, performed for diagnostic purposes, is one of the most frequently performed procedures on newborns. Studies show that heel prick blood sampling holds an important place among invasive procedures performed on newborns. The heel prick blood sampling procedure, frequently performed on newborns, is... It has been reported that pain perception causes stress, and consequently, an increase in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure, a decrease in oxygen saturation (SpO2), and crying Following routine invasive procedures that cause pain, such as heel prick blood tests, children may experience negative physiological, metabolic, and behavioral responses as stress, duration, and intensity of pain increase. Increases in heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure are observed due to the release of catecholamines, glucagon, and steroids following painful stimuli, and these physiological changes observed in response to pain are thought to play a role in initiating ischemic changes by leading to intraventricular hemorrhage and white matter damage around the ventricle. If pain is not effectively relieved or eliminated during this period, it can lead to neurological and behavioral disorders in later stages. Excessive and prolonged pain, particularly that resulting from invasive procedures, causes behavioral stress and physiological imbalances. It is believed that any painful invasive procedure can hinder a child's behavior, feeding habits, interaction with the mother, and adaptation to the environment. Furthermore, experiencing pain can influence subsequent pain behaviors, leading to a lifelong sensitivity to pain in the child. To reduce the effects of invasive procedures on newborns, effective pain management is divided into two categories: pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Non-pharmacological pain management strategies in children are defined as any strategy or technique applied to a child in pain to reduce their experience of pain. Recorded maternal voice and maternal heartbeat listening, music therapy are some of the non-pharmacological methods used in children. Music therapy is noted as one of the non-pharmacological methods widely used in postoperative analgesia, possessing effects such as increasing endorphin release, reducing catecholamine levels and thus decreasing the need for analgesics, stabilizing heart rhythm and respiratory rate, maintaining hemodynamic balance, influencing regional cardiac activity, and lowering blood pressure.
Read the detailed description
It has been noted that one of the non-pharmacological methods used in effective pain management in children is the mother's voice. Although the mechanism underlying the effect of the mother's voice is not fully understood, it is stated that the mother's voice creates a calming environment for children. Studies have shown that listening to the mother's voice before and after invasive procedures performed on infants and children in intensive care units reduces pain. In a study conducted by Erdoğan et al., it was found that children aged 1-3 years who listened to their mother's voice during painful procedures had lower pain levels, lower heart rates, and higher oxygen saturation. It is emphasized that in critical care settings where mothers cannot be with their babies and children and cannot actively participate in their care, listening to the mother's voice is one of the approaches that can be used as an effective method in pain management.
It is known that non-pharmacological methods are effective in reducing pain in children and that they increase the effectiveness of drugs when used together with analgesics. Non-pharmacological methods are preferred because they are easy to apply and inexpensive, reduce the need for drug administration and thus the risk of side effects. Developing appropriate pain control strategies by knowing the effect of pain and related stress on children is both a medical and ethical responsibility.
- Conditions
- Newborn, Maternal Voice, Music Therapy, Heel Prick Testing
- Being tested
- Music Therapy, Maternal Voice
- Keywords
- newborn, Heel Prick Testing, maternal voice, music therapy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Music TherapyOther
In the group where Music Therapy will be applied, the heel prick blood test procedure and the study will be explained to the newborn and their parents. After obtaining consent, music therapy will be applied to the newborn 5 minutes before, during, and after the procedure. During this time, data will be recorded on a form by the observer. The song "The Happiest Child," developed by Fulya Merve KOS, a researcher with a Rhythm Therapist™ certificate issued by the Ministry of National Education, will be used in music therapy. The sound will be adjusted to 45 dB. The speaker will be placed at the tip of the newborn's foot, approximately 30 cm away from their ear, five minutes before the procedure and played to the child during the procedure. This sound will be played to the child 5 minutes before, during, and 5 minutes after the heel prick blood test, and data will be recorded by two observers and evaluated using the Newborn Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the Newborn Stress Scale.
Maternal VoiceOther
In the group where the mother's voice will be used, the child's parents will be informed that the mother's voice will be used for pain relief in the study. For each newborn whose heel prick blood sample is taken by the researcher, the mother's voice will be recorded using a voice recorder. To play the mother's voice, the voice recorder will be placed 50 cm away from the child and the measurement will be taken. The sound level of the mother's voice will be set to an average of 45 decibels. The speaker will be placed at the tip of the newborn's foot, approximately 30 cm away from the ear, five minutes before the procedure and will be played to the child during the procedure. The child will be played this voice 5 minutes before, during, and 5 minutes after the heel prick blood sample is taken. Data will be recorded by two observers and evaluated using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the Neonatal Stress Scale.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress | Experimental | The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress During Heel Prick Testing in Newborns Receives: Other: Music Therapy; Other: Maternal Voice |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Neonatal Infant Pain Scale
The Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) was developed by Lawrence et al. (1993) and adapted into Turkish by Akdovan (1999). It is a pain assessment scale developed for preterm and newborn infants, which evaluates the behavioural response to pain during invasive procedures. The total score on the NIPS ranges from 0 to 7, with scores above 3 indicating the presence of pain.
Measured: Baseline / Pre-encounter
Secondary outcomes (1)
Neonatal Stress Scale
The Neonatal Stress Scale was developed by Ceylan and Bolışık (2017) to assess stress levels in premature infants. The scale consists of 24 items in total, including 8 subgroups covering facial expression, body color, respiration, activity level, soothing ability, muscle tone, extremities, and posture, using a 3-point Likert scale. Each subgroup is scored between 0 and 2 points. The minimum score on the scale is 0, and the maximum is 16. An increase in the score indicates an increased stress level in the infant. The scale is evaluated through observation. It is sufficient for the infant to exhibit only one of the behaviors in each cell of the scale for scoring. When the infant exhibits both of the signs (behaviors) in two different cells during observation (for example, when the infant exhibits signs corresponding to both 1 and 2 points), the highest value is valid. An infant whose condition is stable and balanced will receive a score of 0 on the scale. Infants b
Measured: Baseline / Pre-encounter
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Aug 2026
- Study start29 Jul 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion17 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for NewbornStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Fulya Kos, Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07773792
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Bilecik-BSEU4
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 16 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 19 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual Participant Data (IPD) will not be made publicly available or shared for this study due to ethical considerations regarding participant confidentiality and the explicit terms of the informed consent protocol. Specifically: Informed Consent Constraints: The informed consent forms approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee and signed by the parents/guardians do not include permissions for raw, individual-level data sharing with external third parties or public repositories. Privacy and Vulnerability: Given that the study population consists of pediatric patients undergoing clinical evaluations, raw IPD contains sensitive demographic and clinical details that could potentially compromise participant anonymity. De-identified aggregate statistical data, protocol details, and final study findings will be made available through published peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical trial registries upon study completion.
Publications
No publications resulting from this study are available at this time as the trial is currently ongoing.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress During Heel Prick Testing in Newborns: A Randomised Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07773792
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Bilecik-BSEU4
- Conditions
- Newborn, Maternal Voice, Music Therapy, Heel Prick Testing
- Keywords
- newborn, Heel Prick Testing, maternal voice, music therapy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Bilecik Seyh Edebali UniversitesiUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 29 Jul 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 17 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 19 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
During the adaptation process to the extrauterine environment, healthy newborns face procedures such as hepatitis B vaccination, vitamin K injection, blood sugar monitoring, bilirubin or metabolic disease screening. Heel prick blood sampling, performed for diagnostic purposes, is one of the most frequently performed procedures on newborns. Studies show that heel prick blood sampling holds an important place among invasive procedures performed on newborns. The heel prick blood sampling procedure, frequently performed on newborns, is... It has been reported that pain perception causes stress, and consequently, an increase in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure, a decrease in oxygen saturation (SpO2), and crying Following routine invasive procedures that cause pain, such as heel prick blood tests, children may experience negative physiological, metabolic, and behavioral responses as stress, duration, and intensity of pain increase. Increases in heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure are observed due to the release of catecholamines, glucagon, and steroids following painful stimuli, and these physiological changes observed in response to pain are thought to play a role in initiating ischemic changes by leading to intraventricular hemorrhage and white matter damage around the ventricle. If pain is not effectively relieved or eliminated during this period, it can lead to neurological and behavioral disorders in later stages. Excessive and prolonged pain, particularly that resulting from invasive procedures, causes behavioral stress and physiological imbalances. It is believed that any painful invasive procedure can hinder a child's behavior, feeding habits, interaction with the mother, and adaptation to the environment. Furthermore, experiencing pain can influence subsequent pain behaviors, leading to a lifelong sensitivity to pain in the child. To reduce the effects of invasive procedures on newborns, effective pain management is divided into two categories: pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Non-pharmacological pain management strategies in children are defined as any strategy or technique applied to a child in pain to reduce their experience of pain. Recorded maternal voice and maternal heartbeat listening, music therapy are some of the non-pharmacological methods used in children. Music therapy is noted as one of the non-pharmacological methods widely used in postoperative analgesia, possessing effects such as increasing endorphin release, reducing catecholamine levels and thus decreasing the need for analgesics, stabilizing heart rhythm and respiratory rate, maintaining hemodynamic balance, influencing regional cardiac activity, and lowering blood pressure.
Detailed description
It has been noted that one of the non-pharmacological methods used in effective pain management in children is the mother's voice. Although the mechanism underlying the effect of the mother's voice is not fully understood, it is stated that the mother's voice creates a calming environment for children. Studies have shown that listening to the mother's voice before and after invasive procedures performed on infants and children in intensive care units reduces pain. In a study conducted by Erdoğan et al., it was found that children aged 1-3 years who listened to their mother's voice during painful procedures had lower pain levels, lower heart rates, and higher oxygen saturation. It is emphasized that in critical care settings where mothers cannot be with their babies and children and cannot actively participate in their care, listening to the mother's voice is one of the approaches that can be used as an effective method in pain management.
It is known that non-pharmacological methods are effective in reducing pain in children and that they increase the effectiveness of drugs when used together with analgesics. Non-pharmacological methods are preferred because they are easy to apply and inexpensive, reduce the need for drug administration and thus the risk of side effects. Developing appropriate pain control strategies by knowing the effect of pain and related stress on children is both a medical and ethical responsibility.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress | Experimental | Other: Music Therapy, Other: Maternal VoiceThe Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress During Heel Prick Testing in Newborns |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 0 to 40 days
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Newborns within the first 24-48 hours after birth or 7-14 days old
- At least 2 hours after the last painful intervention
- Children whose parents agreed to participate in the study were included.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Presence of hearing impairment
- Absence of Parental Consent Form
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Music TherapyIn the group where Music Therapy will be applied, the heel prick blood test procedure and the study will be explained to the newborn and their parents. After obtaining consent, music therapy will be applied to the newborn 5 minutes before, during, and after the procedure. During this time, data will be recorded on a form by the observer. The song "The Happiest Child," developed by Fulya Merve KOS, a researcher with a Rhythm Therapist™ certificate issued by the Ministry of National Education, will be used in music therapy. The sound will be adjusted to 45 dB. The speaker will be placed at the tip of the newborn's foot, approximately 30 cm away from their ear, five minutes before the procedure and played to the child during the procedure. This sound will be played to the child 5 minutes before, during, and 5 minutes after the heel prick blood test, and data will be recorded by two observers and evaluated using the Newborn Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the Newborn Stress Scale. | Other | The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress |
| Maternal VoiceIn the group where the mother's voice will be used, the child's parents will be informed that the mother's voice will be used for pain relief in the study. For each newborn whose heel prick blood sample is taken by the researcher, the mother's voice will be recorded using a voice recorder. To play the mother's voice, the voice recorder will be placed 50 cm away from the child and the measurement will be taken. The sound level of the mother's voice will be set to an average of 45 decibels. The speaker will be placed at the tip of the newborn's foot, approximately 30 cm away from the ear, five minutes before the procedure and will be played to the child during the procedure. The child will be played this voice 5 minutes before, during, and 5 minutes after the heel prick blood sample is taken. Data will be recorded by two observers and evaluated using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the Neonatal Stress Scale. | Other | The Effect of Maternal Voice and Music Therapy on Pain and Stress |
Primary outcome
Neonatal Infant Pain Scale
Time frame: Baseline / Pre-encounter
The Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) was developed by Lawrence et al. (1993) and adapted into Turkish by Akdovan (1999). It is a pain assessment scale developed for preterm and newborn infants, which evaluates the behavioural response to pain during invasive procedures. The total score on the NIPS ranges from 0 to 7, with scores above 3 indicating the presence of pain.
1 secondary outcome
Neonatal Stress Scale
Time frame: Baseline / Pre-encounter
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Aug 2026.
- BackgroundNo publications resulting from this study are available at this time as the trial is currently ongoing.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual Participant Data (IPD) will not be made publicly available or shared for this study due to ethical considerations regarding participant confidentiality and the explicit terms of the informed consent protocol. Specifically: Informed Consent Constraints: The informed consent forms approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee and signed by the parents/guardians do not include permissions for raw, individual-level data sharing with external third parties or public repositories. Privacy and Vulnerability: Given that the study population consists of pediatric patients undergoing clinical evaluations, raw IPD contains sensitive demographic and clinical details that could potentially compromise participant anonymity. De-identified aggregate statistical data, protocol details, and final study findings will be made available through published peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical trial registries upon study completion.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Music Therapy and Maternal Voice in people with Newborn and Maternal Voice, run by Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi 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 3 inclusion and 2 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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Aug 2026. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Fulya Merve FMK KOS, Assis Prof Dr (05300974816, fulya.kos@bilecik.edu.tr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (time frame: Baseline / Pre-encounter). 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 NCT07773792, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 19 Aug 2026.