Breast Crawling and Breastfeeding Success

NCT ID: NCT07149766

Last Updated: 2026-01-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 80 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-08-25
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-20

Brief Summary

Breast crawling, also referred to as the newborn's self-attachment, was first observed in 1977 and described as the "first important sucking behavior". During the first hour after birth, the newborn exhibits instinctive movements aimed at locating and attaching to the breast. In 1987, Swedish researchers Widström et al., and later in 1990, Righard and Alade, detailed these behaviors through systematic observation.

They found that when a newborn is placed prone on the mother's abdomen immediately after birth-while the mother is in a supine position-the baby begins to engage rooting and stepping reflexes. These reflexes typically lead the baby to begin crawling toward the breast around 29 minutes after birth, with effective suckling starting approximately 50 minutes postpartum.This instinctual behavior, observed in the first hour of life when the newborn is most alert and active, has been well documented in the literature as "the breast crawl." It demonstrates the neonate's innate capacity to find and latch onto the mother's breast using biological reflexes when uninterrupted.

Righard and Alade emphasized that routine hospital practices often interrupt this natural sequence, which may negatively impact the breastfeeding process. They underlined the importance of preserving the immediate postnatal hour, a critical window in which these behaviors are most likely to occur and support early breastfeeding success.

Conditions

Pregnacy; Newborn; Breastfeeding

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

intervention group

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Breast crawling

Intervention Type: OTHER

The newborn will be placed on the mother's abdomen for no more than 60 minutes, during which breast crawling and suckling behaviors will be observed. Throughout this period, the researcher will maintain active communication with the mother, providing information on the importance of breastfeeding.

The mother will be gently guided to support the baby when necessary, without interfering with the baby's natural instincts. The newborn's heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature will be recorded at birth and at the 60th minute.

Control group

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Breast crawling

The newborn will be placed on the mother's abdomen for no more than 60 minutes, during which breast crawling and suckling behaviors will be observed. Throughout this period, the researcher will maintain active communication with the mother, providing information on the importance of breastfeeding.

The mother will be gently guided to support the baby when necessary, without interfering with the baby's natural instincts. The newborn's heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature will be recorded at birth and at the 60th minute.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Being over 18 years of age,
• Volunteering to participate in the study,
• Ability to speak, write, and understand Turkish,
• No communication difficulties,
• Having had a spontaneous vaginal delivery,
• Primigravida giving birth for the first time,
• The baby was given to the mother within the first hour after birth,
• Having a full-term, singleton, and healthy newborn,
• No condition preventing breastfeeding in either mother or baby.
• The baby was born with an APGAR score of 7 or higher,
• The baby had no tongue, lip, or mouth anomalies,
• Coordination of sucking, rooting, and swallowing was present.

Exclusion Criteria

• The mother did not want to participate in the study or wished to terminate the study,
• The mother had a postpartum emergency requiring medical intervention.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 40 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Sakarya University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

öznur tiryaki

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Sakarya University

Sakarya, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

Zehra Tostanoğlu

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id