Effects of mother-sung lullabies on vaccination-induced infant pain and maternal anxiety: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of mother-sung lullabies during vaccination on vaccine-induced pain in infants and anxiety in mothers.

Design and methods: Our team conducted a randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups between March 4, 2020 and August 28, 2020, at two family health centers in Turkey. This study included 60 healthy-term infants (lullaby group: 30, control group: 30) aged two months, who received the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, and their mothers. We used the Information Form, the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale, the Intervention Follow-Up Form (including heart rate, oxygen saturation, and crying duration), and the State Anxiety Inventory as data collection tools.

Results: Infants in the lullaby group had significantly decreased pain responses than those in the control group (p < .05). Further, singing a lullaby resulted in significantly reduced maternal anxiety in the lullaby group compared to the control group (p < .05).

Conclusions: The lullaby singing method was effective for reducing infants' pain response and mothers' anxiety during vaccination.

Practice implications: The lullaby method can be used to reduce pain during potentially painful procedures performed in infants and reduce anxiety in mothers. The study is registered under the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04692584.

Keywords: Anxiety; Infant; Mothers; Pain; Vaccination.