Comparison of Breastmilk Odor and Vanilla Odor on Mitigating Premature Infants' Response to Pain During and After Venipuncture.

OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the calming effects of breastmilk odor and vanilla odor on preterm infants during and after venipuncture.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-five preterm infants were randomly selected and divided into three groups: control, vanilla odor, and breastmilk odor. Infants in the breastmilk group were exposed to breastmilk odor, and infants in the vanilla group were exposed to vanilla odor from 5 minutes before the start of sampling until 30 seconds after sampling. The Premature Infant Pain Profile was used for calculating quality of pain in infants during and after sampling.

RESULTS: Statistical analyses showed that both vanilla and breastmilk odors had calming effects on premature infants during sampling, but just breastmilk odor had calming effects on infants after the end of sampling. Compared with vanilla odor, breastmilk odor has more calming effects on premature infants.

CONCLUSIONS: Breastmilk odor can be used for calming premature infants during and after venipuncture.