Özet:

Introduction: The most important purpose in neonatal pain management is to minimize the pain felt by newborns and to help the newborn cope with pain. This study planned to examine the effects of two non-pharmacological methods, using pacifiers or maternal holding, on neonates’ pain admitted to the outpatient clinic (OC) and hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Material and Methods: Ninety newborns (30 used pacifiers, 30 maternal holding,30 control) who applied to the OC and 60 newborns (30 used pacifiers, 30 control) admitted to the NICU were prospectively included in this study. The Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) was used to evaluate behavioral responses to pain perception. Physiological parameters of newborns and their durations of crying were also evaluated. Results: When the NIPS scores were analyzed in OC group during and after the procedure, the lowest score was found in the group using pacifiers (p<0.001). As for the NICU patients, both during and after the procedure, NIPS scores were found to be significantly lower in the pacifier users (p<0.001). It was observed that giving pacifiers and mathernal holding had positive effects on physiological parameters and duration of crying in OC patients (p<0.05). No significant difference in the NIPS score was found between OC and NICU group. Conclusion: This study showed that giving pacifiers and maternal holding during the procedure of blood sampling decreased the NIPS score, restored the changes in physiological parameters and decreased the duration of crying.

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