An interventional study of Massage and White Noise in Prematurity and Feeding Behaviors, sponsored by Marmara University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 1 Hour to 12 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.
Sponsored by Marmara University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This study aims to evaluate the effects of short-term environmental comfort interventions and oral motor stimulation on comfort and oral feeding readiness in preterm infants. A total of 84 preterm infants who are clinically stable and transitioning to oral feeding will be assigned to one of four groups: massage, white noise, oral stimulation, or routine care (control). Before the intervention, infant comfort and oral feeding readiness will be assessed using the Premature Infant Comfort Scale and the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (POFRAS). Infants in the intervention groups will receive a single 5-minute session of massage, white noise, or oral stimulation before their first oral feeding, while infants in the control group will receive routine care. Comfort and oral feeding readiness will be assessed during the study to compare the effects of the interventions. The study will also examine the relationship between comfort and oral feeding readiness in preterm infants.
This experimental study will be conducted with preterm infants receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine Hospital. The study will include 84 preterm infants born between 28 and 37 weeks of gestation who are clinically stable and in the process of transitioning to oral feeding. Eligible infants will be randomly assigned to one of four study groups: massage, white noise, oral stimulation, or routine care (control). Before the assigned intervention, descriptive and clinical information will be recorded, and the infants will be assessed using the Premature Infant Comfort Scale and the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (POFRAS). In the massage group, infants will receive a 5-minute session consisting of gentle and rhythmic tactile stimulation. In the white noise group, white noise at an intensity of 40-60 dB will be provided for 5 minutes. In the oral stimulation group, infants will receive a 5-minute oral motor stimulation intervention involving gentle stimulation of the lips, cheeks, palate, gums, and tongue, with non-nutritive sucking when appropriate. Infants assigned to the control group will receive routine neonatal care without an additional study intervention. The assigned intervention will be administered once before the infant's first oral feeding. Following the intervention period, the infant's comfort and oral feeding readiness will be evaluated according to the study assessment schedule, and the first oral feeding will be performed when oral feeding has been clinically authorized by the physician. The study will compare comfort and oral feeding readiness among the intervention and control groups and will examine the relationship between comfort and oral feeding readiness in preterm infants.
2,550 studies on the registry are indexed under Premature Birth; 500 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 84 is close to the median of 84 across 1,666 interventional studies indexed under Premature Birth.
Browse Premature Birth studies →Marmara University is the lead sponsor of 599 studies on the registry; 138 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.
Infants assigned to this group will receive a single 5-minute massage intervention before their first oral feeding. The intervention will include gentle, rhythmic tactile stimulation of the back and shoulders, followed by gentle stroking and touch.
Behavioral: Massage
Infants assigned to this group will be exposed to white noise at an intensity of 40-60 dB for 5 minutes before their first oral feeding. No additional care or procedure will be performed during the white noise intervention.
Behavioral: White Noise
Infants assigned to this group will receive a single 5-minute oral motor stimulation intervention before their first oral feeding. The intervention will include gentle stimulation of the lips, inner cheeks, palate, gums, and tongue, with non-nutritive sucking when appropriate.
Behavioral: Oral Motor Stimulation
Infants assigned to the control group will receive routine neonatal care without an additional study intervention before their first oral feeding.
Other: Routine Care
A single 5-minute massage session will be administered before the infant's first oral feeding. The intervention will include gentle rhythmic stroking of the back and shoulders, gentle downward stroking of the back, slow rhythmic touch to the shoulder or head area, and gentle hand contact over the abdominal area.
White noise at an intensity of 40-60 dB will be provided for 5 minutes before the infant's first oral feeding. The sound source will be positioned approximately 30-50 cm from the infant's bed. No additional care or procedure will be performed during the intervention.
A single 5-minute oral motor stimulation session will be administered before the infant's first oral feeding. The intervention will include gentle stimulation of the lips, inner cheeks, palate, gums, and tongue. Non-nutritive sucking using a sterile finger or pacifier may be provided when appropriate.
Infants assigned to the control group will receive routine neonatal care without additional massage, white noise, or oral motor stimulation as part of the study intervention.
Change in Premature Infant Comfort Scale Score
Developed by Monique and her colleagues, this is an observation-based scale used to assess the comfort level of premature infants. The scale was adapted into Turkish by Dilek Küçük Alemdar and Fatma Güdücü Tüfekçi (2015) in Turkey, and a validity and reliability study was conducted. The scale consists of a total of 7 items: level of alertness, agitation, crying, physical movement, muscle tone, facial expressions, and heart rate. Each item is rated on a scale of 1 to 5, and the total score ranges from 7 to 35. There are no reverse-scored items on the scale. Factor analysis conducted as part of the construct validity assessment determined that the scale exhibits a unifactorial structure, explaining 57.7% of the total variance. The scale's Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was reported as 0.88.
Time frame: Within 1 minute before the start of the intervention, within 1 minute after the completion of the 5-minute intervention (before the first oral feeding), and within 1 minute after the completion of the first oral feeding.
Change in Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale Score
Developed by Cristina Ide Fujinaga and colleagues (2007) to assess how ready preterm infants are for the transition to oral feeding, the scale underwent a clinical validity study in 2013. The Turkish validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted by Çamur and Çetinkaya (2021). The scale consists of a total of 18 items, each of which is scored on a scale of 0, 1, or 2. The total possible score ranges from 0 to 36. There are no reverse-scored items on the scale. The scale covers areas such as behavioral status, oral-motor posture, reflexes, and sucking behavior; while its subdimensions are not explicitly named, they are clinically grouped under five headings: corrected gestational age, behavioral organization, oral posture, reflex assessment, and non-nutritive sucking. In the Turkish adaptation, the optimal cutoff score for the scale was reported as 29, and the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was found to be 0.87.
Time frame: Within 1 minute before the start of the intervention (initial assessment) and within 1 minute after the completion of the 5-minute intervention (before the start of the first oral feeding).
Time to Initiate Post-intervention Oral Feeding
The time to initiation of the first oral feeding in preterm infants will be defined as the duration from the completion of the 5-minute intervention until the start of the first oral feeding. This duration will be recorded in minutes and compared across groups. The first oral feeding will be administered to infants determined by a physician to be ready for oral feeding.
Time frame: The time elapsed (in minutes) from the completion of the five-minute intervention until the start of the first oral feeding up to 20 minutes
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Jan 2027, 2 months later.
Of 741 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Premature Birth, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 47. This study's planned 2 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 759 studies reached it within 24 months; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 47.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get 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.