Neonatal pain is a subject of much interest that has been open to research in recent years. There are only a few studies regarding how to make the heel lance less painful. Three hundred and two newborn babies who were 10 to 18 days old and underwent heel lance were included in our study. Babies in group 1 (151) were laid on the examination table before heel lance, whereas the babies in group 2 (151) were held by a nurse in the upright position. When the duration of crying in both groups was measured, babies in groups 1 and 2 cried 55.2 ± 12.7 and 30.6 ± 9.9 seconds on average, respectively. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). The babies who were held by the nurse cried significantly less than those lying on the table. Our results also revealed that the smoking habit of the mother did not influence the duration of crying, and that breastfed infants cried less than those in the other feeding groups. It can be concluded that holding the baby in arms in the upright position may decrease the duration of crying during heel lance.

Keywords: yenidoğan, ağrı, topuk kanı alınması, newborn, pain, heel lance