Mother Love Eases Preemies’ Pain
Reported April 25, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — For kids of all ages, cuddling with mom can cure any pain. Cuddling up with mom can even make all the difference in the world to a premature infant faced with a painful procedure.
Canadian researchers who compared pain scores among preemies undergoing painful heel pricks to take blood find those who were held by their mothers for 15 minutes prior to the procedure and then while it was taking place had lower scores and quicker recoveries than those who were simply swaddled in their cribs.
The intervention is know as “kangaroo mother care” or KMC, because it mimics the way baby kangaroos are cuddled by their mothers.
All of the babies in the study were born between 28 and 31 weeks gestational age — a group of infants many doctors believe don’t benefit from comfort measures because they are not as well developed as infants who have had more time to grow in the womb. This study suggests mother love can help these infants cope as well.
“The pain response in very preterm neonates appears to be reduced by skin-to-skin maternal contact,” study author Celeste Johnston, professor and associate director of research from McGill School of Nursing in Montreal, was quoted as saying. “This response is not as powerful as it is in older preterm babies, but the shorter recovery time using KMC is important in helping maintain the baby’s health.”
Having mothers cuddle their infants during painful procedures can help the moms as well, adds the author, because it gives them a greater role in the care of their children while they are in intensive care.
SOURCE: BMC Pediatrics, published online April 23, 2008