The comparison of the effect of breast feeding and nonnutritive sucking on neonatal pain during intramuscular injections

Pain is a subjective and undesirable sense resulting from actual or probable injuries. Infants routinely undergo painful invasive procedures whose effects will last for a long time in the infants mind. Research shows that non-pharmacological treatments result in less pain during painful invasive procedures and their negative effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of breastfeeding and non nutritive sucking on the pain resulting from intramuscular injection of HBS vaccine on infants. This study is a randomized clinical trial in which 3 groups were investigated. For the first group the HBS vaccine was injected routinely and without any intervention for pain relief. The second group was breast fed, and the third group was sucking on a finger covered with a sterile glove. To determine the intensity of pain physiological, behavior response and the crying time were examined, 2 minutes before, during and 2 minute after the vaccination. There was no significant difference in physiological responses caused by pain between 3 groups. But in the crying time (P=0), facial changes during injection (P=0.015), facial changes after injection (P=0.024) and calming after injection (P=0.013), there was a significant difference between the 3 groups. Findings of study indicates that breast feeding effectively reduces pain of intramuscular injections in term neonates.