Moms better at soothing baby’s pain
Canadian researchers say babies express less pain in their mothers’ embrace compared to when fathers try to sooth them in painful conditions.
McGill University scientists investigated the effect of the so-called 'kangaroo care' on the babies' in soothing 62 preemies in the neonatal intensive care unit that needed multiple heel stick procedures for blood tests, Reuters reported.
During the procedure, either of the parents kept the baby using 'kangaroo care' technique in which an adult holds the infant, wearing only a diaper, against his or her bare chest, with a sheet or other cover wrapped around the pair.
Researchers videotaped faces of each infant during and after the blood draw. Their faces were then analyzed for tell-tale expressions of pain, such as squeezed eyes and a furrowed nose and lip.
According to the results, infants kept with kangaroo care technique while getting a heel stick expressed less pain compared to those blood sampled while lying in an incubator. Pain was rated on a 0-to-21 scale.
The study also showed that when fathers kept the babies pain scores were 8.5 and 8.6 at 30 seconds and 1 minute after blood was drawn but when it was the mothers' turn, the scores were 1.4 to 1.5 points lower at those intervals.
Scientists, however, found that there was no significant difference between infants' pain expression score after one minute.
Other studies have reportedly shown pain scores of about 11 to 13 when infants are lying in an incubator getting a heel stick.
Results suggest that kangaroo care works better than keeping preemies in their bed during painful conditions such as blood sampling.
Previous studies also revealed that skin-to-skin contact had a number of positive health benefits for the baby, including relieving pain.
"This supports the hypothesis that there is something unique about the comfort of a mother’s contact over and above that of another caring adult," scientists wrote in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. "The difference in the male physique, especially the chest, may be perceived by the infant to be not that of a natural caregiver."
Source: presstv.ir
