Newborn Care

Aim:The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of the side kangaroo position on comfort and physiological parameters in newborns receiving noninvasive mechanical ventilation. Method: The study will be conducted between February 2026 and July 2026 at Mersin University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, with infants receiving nCPAP. Newborns scheduled to receive nCPAP will be divided into two groups (Side Kangaroo Position Group: 48, Control Group: 48), comprising a total of 92 newborns. Prior to the procedure, infants will be placed in the side kangaroo position on their mothers' chests; the control group will receive routine clinical care. Infants will be assessed using an "information form" and the "Newborn Comfort Behavior Scale." Vital signs will also be recorded before and after the procedure.

Pain, defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as a subjective, sensory, and emotional experience, differs from nociception, which is merely a neural activity. Premature newborns, whose inhibitory fibers are not yet mature due to anatomical and physiological development and who have insufficient endogenous opioid release, experience painful stimuli much more intensely. The inability of this age group to verbally express pain makes the diagnosis, assessment, and management of pain entirely dependent on healthcare professionals. Pain that is not effectively managed leads to stress and loss of comfort in the short term, while in the long term it can cause permanent neurodevelopmental problems and alter the individual's pain threshold later in life. Premature infants, especially those in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), are exposed to invasive procedures that cause moderate to severe pain, such as heel prick tests, much more frequently than healthy term infants. In this context, pain management is a fundamental and essential nursing responsibility for the infant's neuroprotective developmental care. The literature shows that various non-pharmacological methods, such as oral sucrose, non-nutritive sucking (NNS), facilitated flexion, and wrapping, are used to alleviate pain during interventional procedures. Although more readily available in NICUs, studies on the effectiveness of oral glucose solutions are more limited compared to sucrose. This research, designed to address this gap in the existing literature, aims to investigate the effect of "oral breast milk, 20%, and 10% dextrose solution administered with supportive positioning methods" on pain reduction during heel prick blood sampling in premature newborns. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the development of a new, easily applicable, effective, and evidence-based nursing intervention strategy for NICUs.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based training on improving self-efficacy and clinical practices of midwives in providing immediate newborn care. It is a quasi-experimental study conducted among midwives working in healthcare settings to assess the impact of training on their knowledge, confidence, and practical performance in newborn care immediately after delivery.