Breast milk, sucking, and gentle holding: a new recipe to soothe newborn pain?

NCT ID NCT07777432

Completed Symptom relief Sponsor: Universitat Jaume I Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial tests whether a combination of expressed breast milk, sucking, and facilitated tucking (gentle holding) reduces pain in healthy newborns during a heel prick, compared with breastfeeding alone. About 128 full-term infants will be randomly assigned to one of the two comfort methods. Pain will be measured using two validated scales, and crying time and heart rate will also be recorded.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: A non-pharmacological triple combination of expressed breast milk, sucking, and facilitated tucking, compared with breastfeeding (tetanalgesia), given during a heel prick procedure.
What this could lead to: If effective, this could offer a simple, drug-free way to reduce pain in newborns during routine procedures like heel pricks.
What could go wrong: This is a small, single-center trial, and the effect may be modest or not generalizable. Pain is subjective and hard to measure in newborns, so results may be uncertain.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

agnosia Breast Feeding Pain

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

PAIN PAIN MANAGEMENT

Contacts and locations

Locations

Hospital Comarcal de Vinaròs

Vinaròs, Castellón, 12500, Spain

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