CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00414258Updated Apr 14, 2011

The Holding Study: Feeding Analgesia in Preterm Infants

An interventional study of breastfeeding in Pain, sponsored by University of British Columbia. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 3 Days and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2011-04-14.

Sponsored by University of British Columbia · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
3 Days and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of mothers' skin-to-skin holding during feeding via a soother trainer with the effects of pacifier sucking on preterm infant biobehavioural responses during and immediately after a painful procedure

Hypothesis:

  1. When held by their mothers during blood collection, preterm infants will show less pain reaction than when sucking on a pacifier.
  2. Following holding during the blood collection, mothers will find no differences in their infants' feeding ability.
Read the detailed description

Research Method:

In a between subjects, randomized design, 20 stable preterm infants born between 30-35 weeks gestational age will be studied. Infants will be randomized to one of two interventions which will take place during blood collections that are required for clinical management. For the standard care condition, infants will remain in their isolettes and will be positioned in prone and given a pacifier to suck on throughout the blood collection. For the holding condition, infants will be held skin-to-skin by their mothers and given breast milk using a soother trainer during the blood collection.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pain

Keywords

  • Pain Response
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of British Columbia is the lead sponsor of 1,309 studies on the registry; 253 are open to participants now.

Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 1 (17%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
3 Days and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Born between 30-35 weeks gestational age
  • Mother has fluent English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • CNS injury
  • congenital anomaly
  • active infection
  • has had no surgeries or analgesics/sedatives in last 72 hours
  • history of maternal drug exposure
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
15 participants (actual)

Interventions

  • Procedurebreastfeeding

    See detailed description.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Videotaped and recorded at Baseline, Lance and Recovery:Neonatal Facial Coding System - total facial score; Heart Rate

Secondary outcomes

  1. Videotaped and Recorded at Baseline, Lance and Recovery:Hand Movements; Sleep/Wake States

  2. Samples taken at baseline and recovery;Salivary Cortisol sample

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, Special Care Nursery
    Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3V4, Canada
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 14, 2011, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00414258
Lead sponsor
University of British Columbia
First posted
Dec 21, 2006
Start date
Sep 2006
Primary completion
Dec 2007
Completion
Dec 2007
Last update
Apr 14, 2011

Study contacts

Liisa Holsti, Ph.D
principal investigator · University of British Columbia

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2011. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion