Breast feeding has analgesic effect in newborn babies

Breast feeding during a painful procedure effectively prevents pain in newborn infants. Carbajal and colleagues (p 13) conducted a randomised controlled trial comparing the analgesic effect of breast feeding with that of sweet solutions combined with pacifier and placebo in 180 term infants undergoing venepuncture. Using two validated scales for measuring pain in infants, newborns breastfed during the procedure had lower pain scores. During procedures like heel lances and venepuncture, infants do feel pain, but pharmacological treatments are avoided because of adverse effects and poor effectiveness.

(Credit: BARNABY HALL/PHOTONICA)

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Relevant Article

Analgesic effect of breast feeding in term neonates: randomised controlled trial

Ricardo Carbajal, Soocramanien Veerapen, Sophie Couderc, Myriam Jugie, and Yves Ville
BMJ 2003 326: 13. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]