The Effects of Lavender Scent on Pain of Blood Sampling in Term Neonates

Introduction After birth, many infants are in hospital undergo repeated invasive procedures and because there is increasing evidence of short term and long term adverse neurodevelopment consequences, pain management in neonates is very important. Materials and Methods This was a clinical trial study that carried out on 80 term neonates that were allocated to 2 intervention (40 neonates) and control (40 neonates) groups. In experimental group, infants at night were exposed to the scent of lavender for 8 hours before blood sampling, and the next day, at the time of blood sampling was used of the scent of lavender. Simultaneously with the needle, Douleur Aigue Nouveau-ne (DAN) scale by a trained person was calculated and recorded. Duration of infants crying in seconds of starting cry to silence that lasted at least 5 seconds interval was measured. The control group did not receive additional action for pain relief. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 16 software. Results Average rating of DAN scores in control group was 5.97 ± 1.94 and in experimental group was 4.47 ± 1.81. Mann Whitney test results showed a significant difference in pain scores in the two groups (P=0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in the time of crying (P = 0.25). Conclusion The results of this study indicate that the scent of lavender is effective in reducing the pain of blood sampling in term neonates; but had no effect on duration of crying infants. Since neonatal pain management is an important task for nurse, using of the scent of lavender as a non pharmacological method of pain management in neonates can be useful.