Publication:

A study to assess the effectiveness of breast feeding on pain level among infants during immunization at selected health and wellness centre, Daman

Background Pain is a global health problem experienced from birth to the last stages of life. It has been proven that infants are able to feel painful stimuli during immunization. Multiple adverse effects of pharmacological agents due to their side effects prevent providers from adequately addressing procedural pain. Breast feeding should be the first-choice analgesic during painful procedures in neonates. Aim was to assess the effectiveness of breast feeding on pain level among infants during immunization at a selected health and wellness center, Daman.

Methods A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group post-test-only design was adopted. 60 infants were selected using a non-probability convenient sampling technique; 30 were assigned to the control group and 30 to the experimental group.

Results The mean pain score in the control group was 7.50 and in the experimental group was 2.70, with a mean difference of 4.800. The calculated unpaired "t" value of 12.829 was higher than the table value of 1.672 at p<0.05 level of significance, demonstrating the effectiveness of breast feeding in reducing pain during immunization.

Conclusions Breast feeding is a simple, safe, cost-effective, and easy-to-administer pain intervention during immunization. It should be incorporated in all immunization centres as a pain management measure.