Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

Preterm infants undergo early separation from parents and are exposed to frequent painful clinical procedures, with resultant short- and long-term effects on their neurodevelopment. We aimed to establish whether the mother's voice could provide an effective and safe analgesia for preterm infants and whether endogenous oxytocin (OXT) could be linked to pain modulation. Twenty preterm infants were exposed to three conditions-mother's live voice (speaking or singing) and standard care-in random order during a painful procedure. OXT levels (pg/mL) in saliva and plasma cortisol levels were quantified, and the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) was blindly coded by trained psychologists.


Clinical Trial Description

Preterm birth rates are continuously increasing in almost all countries, with 15 million premature infants being born every year worldwide1. Despite rapid advances in technology, the number of preterm-born children who show short- and long-term sequelae of prematurity, even before reaching school age, remains high. Around 40% of low birth weight preterm infants experience a complex spectrum of unfavourable neurodevelopmental outcomes when compared with their pairs at term. Thus, prematurity is of great concern for health policies in both low- and high-income countries. The impaired development of preterm infants is not only associated with medical factors, but it is also at least partly a consequence of the atypical early-life environment of these infants, including exposure to pain and separation from the primary caregivers. The aim of the present work was first, to assess whether early closeness with parents during essential but painful clinical procedures could have a positive role in pain modulation in preterm infants, thus contributing to the universal right to pain relief. Second, we aimed to investigate the possible role of the oxytocinergic system in this putative pain modulation through maternal vocal contact. In the present protocol, we introduce the effects of separation and early pain exposure as two environmental factors that are even more deleterious when concomitant, inducing short- and long-term problems in the preterm infant's development. We then suggest that there are protective effects of early closeness between parents and preterm infants in early care and, more specifically, of early vocal contact between parents and preterm infants during hospitalisation. Lastly, we discuss the role of oxytocin (OXT) as a crucial biomarker for attachment processes and in relation to brain inflammation due to stressful procedures for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT04762004
Study type Interventional
Source University of Geneva, Switzerland
Contact
Status Completed
Phase N/A
Start date March 7, 2018
Completion date July 1, 2020

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Not yet recruiting NCT05934318 - L-ArGinine to pRevent advErse prEgnancy Outcomes (AGREE) N/A
Completed NCT05502510 - Assessing the Effectiveness and Efficacy of the MyHealthyPregnancy Application
Not yet recruiting NCT03418311 - Cervical Pessary Treatment for Prevention of s PTB in Twin Pregnancies on Children`s Long-Term Outcome N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT03418012 - Prevention of sPTB With Early Cervical Pessary Treatment in Women at High Risk for PTB N/A
Completed NCT02993744 - Maternal Inflammatory Parameters Within Routine Treatment With Betamethasone N/A
Active, not recruiting NCT02673216 - Infection and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome
Completed NCT01683565 - Preemie Tots: A Pilot Study to Understand the Effects of Prematurity in Toddlerhood Phase 4
Completed NCT01460576 - Improving Prematurity-Related Respiratory Outcomes at Vanderbilt N/A
Completed NCT01412931 - Protein and Ultrasound Indicators of Preterm Birth N/A
Completed NCT02606058 - The Australian Placental Transfusion Study (APTS): Should Very Pre Term Babies Receive a Placental Blood Transfusion at Birth Via Deferring Cord Clamping Versus Standard Cord Clamping Procedures? N/A
Terminated NCT03715530 - Use of Placental Alpha Microglobulin-1(PAMG-1) to Diagnose Premature Rupture of Membranes in Pregnant Women N/A
Completed NCT00422526 - Progesterone for Prevention of Preterm Birth in Women With Short Cervix: Randomized Controlled Trial Phase 3
Enrolling by invitation NCT04251260 - Effectiveness of Positioning in Preterm Neonates N/A
Completed NCT03668860 - India Dexamethasone and Betamethasone Phase 1
Recruiting NCT03638037 - Correlation Between Maternal Vitamin D Level And Preterm Birth
Completed NCT02225353 - Efficacy Study of a Cervical Pessary Containing Progesterone for the Prevention of Preterm Delivery Phase 2
Recruiting NCT03992534 - The FLIP-1 Study: Vaginal Lactobacillus Supplementation in Women at High Risk of Preterm Birth Phase 1
Completed NCT03144141 - Association Between EHG and Risk of Preterm Delivery in Women Hospitalized for Threatened Premature Delivery N/A
Completed NCT05210985 - Examination of the Relationship Between Home Affordances With Development
Completed NCT04811742 - Effect of Immersion Bathing and Showering Applications on Comfort Level and Physiological Parameters of Newborn N/A