The effectiveness of familiar olfactory stimulation with lavender scent and glucose on the pain of blood sampling in term neonates: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Analgesic effect of inhaled lavender essential oil for frenotomy in healthy neonates: a randomized clinical trial

“…Goubet conducted the first study of aromatherapy with neonates in 2003 [ 24 ]. Aromatherapy has been used to treat pain in infants, showing an objective improvement in neonatal pain scale scores, decreased heart rate, and prevention of decreased oxygen saturation [ 4 , 5 , 7 , 12 , 14 ]. The main aromas used in neonatology are lavender, vanilla, and human milk [ 4 ].…”

“…Repeated, unrelieved pain can cause adverse physiological effects in all systems, including the brain, potentially affecting long-term development [ 4 ]. This fact has driven development-based care, which promotes individualized care based on the observation of the neonates’ behaviors and the knowledge of their physical and family environment and which focuses on avoiding painful procedures as much as possible, grouping interventions to minimally manipulate the newborn, and managing pain with analgesia, swaddling, or combining both [ 5 ]. It is important to recognize and relieve pain because it may lead to hemodynamic instability, decreased oxygen saturation, and increased intracranial pressure [ 6 ].…”

“…This type of relief includes sensory stimulation (positioning or swaddling, vestibular action or rocking, aromatherapy, non-nutritive sucking, musical therapy) and nutritive (oral sweet solutions) and maternal interventions (maternal odor and voice, breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact) [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]. Oral sucrose solutions reduce but do not eliminate the signs of pain; thus, they should be used in combination with other non-pharmacological interventions [ 5 , 8 – 10 ]. Lavender essential oil (LEO), of all the essential oils, has been studied most by healthcare professionals [ 11 ].…”

“…Lavender essential oil (LEO), of all the essential oils, has been studied most by healthcare professionals [ 11 ]. LEO has sedative, antispasmodic and anticolic properties and may relieve pain [ 7 , 12 , 13 ] by inhibiting nociceptive stimuli by stimulating the olfactory system, inducing relaxation and stimulating endogenous opioids [ 5 ]. Lavandula angustifolia ssp angustifolia, the main component in LEO, has demonstrated benefits in reducing pain during neonatal blood sampling or heel puncture [ 5 , 7 , 14 ] and vaccination at two months [ 15 ].…”

“…Our hypothesis was that signs of pain [mostly crying time and Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) score] would be different between the experimental and the control groups. We chose LEO because it is the fragrance that has been studied the most in neonates and infants [ 4 , 5 , 7 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 17 ]. There are scarce studies that compare the effectiveness of LEO vs. sucrose on neonatal pain relief during blood sampling [ 5 ], and to the best of our knowledge, none has studied the potential benefit of LEO to relieve pain in neonatal frenotomy.…”