Assessing The Effectiveness Of Breastfeeding For Pain Relief In Infants During Vaccination In South India

Abstract

Background:
Pain during vaccination is a significant concern in infant care, impacting not only the infant's immediate comfort but also long-term behavioral and physiological responses. Although behavioral scales such as the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale (MBPS) are widely used, objective physiological markers such as heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and duration of crying offer additional insight into the effectiveness of non-pharmacological pain interventions. Breastfeeding, a natural and accessible method, has been shown to provide comfort during painful procedures, yet its physiological impact during routine immunization remains underexplored in the Indian setting.

Aim:
To assess the effectiveness of breastfeeding in reducing procedural pain in infants during vaccination using MBPS, and to evaluate its impact on physiological parameters such as heart rate, SpO₂, and crying duration.

Methods:
This quasi-experimental trial was carried out over a span of six months in Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, SBV Chennai Campus. 60 infants between the age of 6 weeks and 6 months were recruited and equally divided into two groups. The experimental group babies were breastfed during vaccination, and the control group babies did not receive such an intervention. Pain was measured with the MBPS, and physiological measures—post-vaccination heart rate, SpO₂, and crying time—were measured immediately after injection. Statistical analysis was done using independent t-tests, and p-values < 0.05 were considered significant.

Results:
The mean MBPS score was much lower in the lactation group (2.03 ± 1.39) than in the control group (6.20 ± 1.85; p < 0.001). Moreover, the breast-fed group showed less crying duration (mean 23.2 ± 8.5 sec vs. 67.4 ± 15.9 sec; p < 0.001), steadier heart rates (mean 131.4 ± 7.2 bpm vs. 145.8 ± 8.6 bpm; p < 0.001), and sustained post-procedure SpO₂ levels (97.6 ± 1.1% vs. 94.3 ± 1.4%; p < 0.001). These results indicate that breastfeeding not only decreases behavioral responses to pain but also dampens physiological stress of immunization.

Conclusion:
Breastfeeding is an effective, safe, and holistic non-pharmacologic measure for diminishing pain and related physiological stress in infants at the time of vaccination. Breastfeeding considerably reduces behavioral pain scores, duration of crying, and cardiovascular stress but maintains oxygen saturation. Routine immunization practices should incorporate breastfeeding for increasing procedural comfort and satisfaction of caregivers.