An Effect of Smelled Breast Milk During and After Venous Blood Drawing on Newborn Infants' Pain and Comfort Level.

Background/

Objectives

This study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of breast milk odor on pain and stress levels during venous blood sampling. Method: Data were collected from 60 newborn infants consisting of a total of 30 infants in the experimental group and 30 in the control group who were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit between 7 December 2022 and 25 September 2023. The data were collected using the Newborn Infant Pain Scale and Premature Infant Comfort Scale forms.

Results

It was observed that there was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the Newborn Infant Pain Scale and Premature Infant Comfort Scale when comparing the measurements taken during the procedure and 5 min after the procedure. A strong correlation was found between the Newborn Infant Pain Scale and Premature Infant Comfort Scale scores measured 5 min after the venous blood collection procedure (r = 0.86, p = 0.01).

Conclusions

Based on the results of this study, it was determined that smelling breast milk, which is one of the non-pharmacological methods that can be used in invasive or non-invasive painful procedures on newborn infants, positively affects the pain and comfort level of babies.