Newborn babies in intensive units are in pain
This one really breaks my heart – newborn babies in intensive care units are in pain and medical care is not doing enough to ease it.
The study published in the July 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed 42,413 painful procedures performed on 430 newborns. And the results are equally painful to a parent’s heart , as follows:
- only 2% of the newborns received medications to lessen pain
- only 18.2% were given non-pharmacological pain therapy.
- about four out of five babies received no interventions to relieve pain
The procedures and interventions conducted are many and ranges from a simple heel stick to draw blood to the complicated task of inserting a chest tube. The majority of babies who go to intensive care are preemies. Most of the procedures are necessary for monitoring as well as keeping the infant healthy. However, little babies aged 1 to 4 weeks old are very sensitive to pain. Repeated or prolonged exposure of babies to lots of pain can affect the way their brains process pain and may also have an effect on their long-term development and behaviour.
However, doctors are hesitant about using pain relieving-medications on these babies because of the risks. There are no medications especially designed for premature babies. The effects as well as side effects of commercially available pain relievers on very young infants are unpredictable.
The researchers recommend that pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain relief should be combined to get the desired effect. Giving babies sucrose or glucose solution, for example, has been shown to ease injection pains. The kangaroo care position has also shown to be helpful. Topical anesthetics may be used for mild procedures.
I remember the two weeks my premature twin boys spent at the neonatal clinic. There was one instance when the paediatrician had to search every square cm of his forehead and prick several times before she could hit a vein. I could understand that finding minute blood vessels on a tiny baby is an extremely difficult but necessary task. But this is no comfort for a mom, any mom, any parent.
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