Evaluation of the Effect of Massage by the Mother on the Pain of Term Infants after Care Measures

Introduction: Hospitalized infants undergo a lot of painful procedures during care and treatment, and the use of non-pharmacological methods to reduce the effects of pain helps the infants to relax and stay healthy. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of massage by the mother on the pain of term infants after care measures. Materials and methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 80 infants in the neonatal ward. Neonates were selected by random sampling and randomly divided into two groups. In both groups, the pain score was measured in the first time of the invasive procedure and then in the experimental group after 5 days of massage and the control group without massage, again in the next time of the invasive procedure, the pain score was measured before, during and after the intervention. Findings obtained from the NIPS questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results: The difference between the pain scores before the intervention was not significant in the control and experimental groups, but after five days of massage, the pain score in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group. The results show that pain in children increases during and after the procedure, but the amount of pain decreases with massage by mothers. Conclusion: Clinical and therapeutic measures in the intensive care unit cause neonatal pain and massage is one of the cost-free and simple solutions to reduce pain in infants. According to the findings of our study on the positive effect of massage by the mother on neonatal pain, it is recommended that nurses use it as an effective intervention in reducing the pain of infants.