Can a gentle Hands-On technique help newborns breastfeed?
NCT ID NCT01890668
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are studying whether early osteopathic manipulative treatment, a gentle hands-on technique, helps healthy newborns with suboptimal breastfeeding behavior. The trial enrolls 128 mother-baby pairs and randomly assigns each newborn to receive the treatment or no treatment, with both groups kept unaware of the assignment. The main goal is to compare breastfeeding failure rates at one month of life, while also tracking feeding scores, maternal satisfaction, and safety.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- osteopathic manipulative treatment, a hands-on technique using gentle mobilization
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could give parents and clinicians a non-drug option to support early breastfeeding difficulties in healthy newborns.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, single-center study of 128 mother-baby pairs, so any benefit may be small or may not hold up in larger, more diverse groups. Osteopathic manipulation is generally gentle, but newborns are fragile and the technique's effects are not well established.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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128 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jul 2013
- Finished
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Sep 2016
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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1 day to 4 days
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy newborn ≥ 38 weeks of gestation, * Suboptimal breastfeeding behavior defined by an IBFATmax score \<10 after 2 assessments.(IBFATmax score = maximal score of Infant Breast Feeding Assessment Tool) * And/ or presence of persistent severe pain (VAS\> 5) at hospital discharge, * And / or the presence of nipples cracks, grades 2-5 on the NTS scale * Maternal Project of exclusive breastfeeding. * Parental informed and consent form signed Exclusion Criteria: * Prematurity defined by a gestation \<38 weeks * Hypotrophy * Maternal obesity (BMI\>40) * Multiple pregnancy * Congenital malformation * Neonatal pathology incompatible with efficient lactation initiation. * Mothers minor or major and / or under guardianship and / or with poor understanding of French language * Previous history of maternal breast surgery or umbilicated nipple * IBFAT score max \>10 on at least one of the two assessment at Day3. * Medical contraindication to osteopathy: bone injury (fracture), tendon or ligament (sprain, dislocation etc ...) in the newborn incompatible with effective mobilization. * Parental consent withdrawal. * Neonatal pathology incompatible with breastfeeding follow-up in the first month of life.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes - Hôpital Mère-Enfant
Nantes, 44093, France
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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