Mothers' Views on the Use of Oral Glucose for Pain Relief in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND: Involving mothers in their infant's pain management is an essential part of family-centred care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Healthcare professionals commonly use sweet solutions, such as oral glucose, to relieve pain in infants during heel lances and other procedures. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how mothers perceive the use of oral glucose for pain management. AIM: To describe mothers' views on the use of oral glucose for neonatal pain relief. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit in Finland between May 2023 and May 2024. The participants were mothers (n = 25), recruited from a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving newborns. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews based on an interview guide, and analysed using content analysis. FINDINGS: Mothers' views on the use of glucose for neonatal pain relief consisted of four main categories: 'Varying perceptions of acceptability', 'An easy-to-implement method', 'Contradictory opinions on effectiveness' and 'Another method would be better'. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers found glucose to be an easy-to-use method for neonatal pain relief, but their opinions on its effectiveness varied. They recommended combining glucose with another method or adopting a mother-led approach to improve pain management. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Healthcare professionals should recognise the individual nature of each mother's perception of glucose as a method of newborn pain management and consider this perspective when providing counselling and planning pain relief methods.