An interventional study of Multisensory Stimulation in Procedural Pain in Newborns, sponsored by Baskent University. Recruiting at 2 sites in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 1 Day to 28 Days, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-05.
Sponsored by Baskent University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This randomized controlled study will evaluate whether multisensory stimulation can reduce pain in healthy newborns during heel blood sampling. Newborns will be assigned to either a multisensory stimulation group, which includes breastfeeding, gentle stroking, maternal singing, and eye contact, or a control group in which the procedure will be performed while the newborn is held in the mother's arms. Pain scores, crying duration, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and procedure duration will be compared between the groups.
Heel blood sampling is a routine procedure used in newborn screening; however, it can produce pain, crying, and short-term changes in physiological parameters such as heart rate and oxygen saturation. Non-pharmacological approaches are commonly used to reduce procedural pain in newborns, but the effects of individual methods may be inconsistent. Multisensory stimulation combines several familiar and comforting sensory inputs and may reduce pain by directing attention away from the procedure, supporting autonomic regulation, and decreasing the stress response.
In this study, multisensory stimulation will consist of breastfeeding, gentle stroking of the leg, maternal singing or lullaby, and continuous eye contact between the mother and newborn. Breastfeeding and gentle stroking will begin 10 minutes before heel blood sampling and continue until 5 minutes after the procedure. Maternal singing and eye contact will be maintained throughout the procedure. The control condition will reflect supportive routine care, with the newborn held in the mother's arms during heel blood sampling.
The study will examine whether this structured multisensory approach reduces procedural pain and crying and supports physiological stability in healthy newborns. Pain, heart rate, and oxygen saturation will be assessed before, during, and after heel blood sampling. Crying duration and total procedure duration will also be recorded. The findings may contribute to the development of a safe, practical, and standardized non-pharmacological approach to pain management during routine newborn procedures.
241 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Procedural; 64 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 72 is below the median of 90 across 227 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Procedural.
Browse Pain, Procedural studies →Baskent University is the lead sponsor of 209 studies on the registry; 35 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Newborns assigned to this arm will receive a structured multisensory stimulation intervention during heel blood sampling. The intervention will include breastfeeding, gentle stroking of the leg, maternal singing or lullaby, and continuous eye contact between the mother and newborn. Breastfeeding and gentle stroking will begin 10 minutes before the procedure and continue until 5 minutes after the procedure. Maternal singing and eye contact will be maintained throughout heel blood sampling.
Other: Multisensory Stimulation
Newborns assigned to this arm will receive routine heel blood sampling while being held in their mother's arms. No additional structured non-pharmacological pain-reduction intervention will be administered. When necessary, the mother may gently hold and support the newborn in a comfortable position during the procedure.
The multisensory stimulation intervention consists of four components: breastfeeding, gentle stroking, maternal singing or lullaby, and eye contact. Breastfeeding will begin 10 minutes before heel blood sampling and continue until 5 minutes after the procedure. During the same 15-minute period, the mother will gently stroke the newborn's leg from which the heel blood sample will be obtained. Throughout the heel blood sampling procedure, the mother will sing a lullaby or song in a soft and calm voice and maintain continuous eye contact with the newborn. No standardized song or lullaby will be prescribed, and the sound level will remain within the range of natural mother-newborn communication.
N-PASS Pain Score
Newborn pain will be assessed using the Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale (N-PASS). The scale evaluates crying or irritability, behavioral state, facial expression, extremity tone or body tension, and changes in vital signs. Higher pain scores indicate greater pain or agitation.
Time frame: Immediately before, during, and immediately after heel blood sampling.
Crying Duration
The total duration of crying associated with heel blood sampling will be measured using a stopwatch and recorded in seconds. A shorter crying duration indicates a more favorable outcome.
Time frame: During the heel blood sampling session.
Heart Rate
Heart rate will be measured non-invasively using a bedside pulse oximeter and recorded as beats per minute. Heart rate values will be assessed to determine physiological responses to heel blood sampling and the multisensory stimulation intervention.
Time frame: Immediately before, during, and immediately after heel blood sampling.
Oxygen Saturation
Peripheral oxygen saturation will be measured non-invasively using a bedside pulse oximeter and recorded as a percentage. Higher and more stable oxygen saturation values indicate a more favorable physiological response.
Time frame: Immediately before, during, and immediately after heel blood sampling.
Procedure Duration
The total duration of the heel blood sampling procedure will be measured using a stopwatch and recorded in seconds.
Time frame: During a single heel blood sampling procedure
Plan to share: No
Started Apr 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2026, 4 months after the start.
Of 141 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Pain, Procedural, half reached primary completion within 7 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 15. This study's planned 4 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 141 studies reached it within 7 months; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 15.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions 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.