Effect of Nesting During Intramuscular Injection on Pain, Stress, and Breastfeeding Success in Cesarean-Born Term Newborns (NESTING)

Painful procedures performed during the first hours after birth, particularly intramuscular vitamin K and hepatitis B injections, are associated with significant pain and stress responses in newborns. Although several non-pharmacological interventions have been recommended to minimize procedural pain, evidence regarding the effectiveness of nesting in healthy term newborns delivered by cesarean section remains limited.

This study is designed as a prospective, single-center, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial. The study will be conducted in the newborn observation room of the Delivery Unit at Kocaeli Darıca Farabi Training and Research Hospital. Healthy term newborns (37-42 weeks of gestation) delivered by cesarean section will be enrolled after written informed parental consent is obtained. A total of 112 newborns will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the nesting intervention group or the routine care control group using Random Allocation Software.

Newborns assigned to the intervention group will be placed in a sterile cotton nesting position until the first intramuscular injection. Routine intramuscular administration of vitamin K and hepatitis B vaccine will be performed according to standard neonatal care. The control group will receive routine neonatal care without nesting. No additional invasive procedures will be performed for research purposes.

Pain, stress level, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and settling time will be assessed before, during, and one minute after the injection. Breastfeeding success will be evaluated at the first breastfeeding after mother-infant reunion, at one hour after breastfeeding, and before hospital discharge using validated assessment tools. Outcome assessment will be performed by an independent assessor who is blinded to group allocation.

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether nesting reduces procedural pain and stress while improving physiological stability and breastfeeding success in term newborns delivered by cesarean section. The results are expected to contribute to evidence-based neonatal care by supporting the implementation of developmental, non-pharmacological interventions during routine newborn procedures.