The soothing tones of a classical lullaby may help to relieve the pain newborns can feel from routine medical procedures. The mellifluous method could be a beneficial addition to other pain-easing tactics.
“Since they gave sucrose, it’s hard to say yes, music by itself would help,” says Mallory Perry-Eaddy, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse and a nurse scientist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. But combining music with other pain-relieving methods “could be really useful.”
Until fairly recently, the medical community did not believe newborns experienced pain. But over the last several decades, studies have revealed that infants do perceive pain, and they may be more sensitive to painful stimuli than adults are. Enduring repeated pain-inducing procedures without pain-relief treatment can have lasting neurological consequences for infants, including a heightened perception of pain.
“It’s very important that we do try to stay on top of [pain] prior to procedures,” says Perry-Eaddy, rather than just trying to alleviate pain afterwards.
2023-09-01 06:00:00
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