Skin-to-Skin Contact Is Analgesic in Healthy Newborns

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their newborns will reduce the pain experienced by the infant during heel lance. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 30 newborn infants were studied. INTERVENTIONS: Infants were assigned randomly to either being held by their mothers in whole body, skin-to-skin contact or to no intervention (swaddled in crib) during a standard heel lance procedure. OUTCOME MEASURES: The effectiveness of the intervention was determined by comparing crying, grimacing, and heart rate differences between contact and control infants during and after blood collection. RESULTS: Crying and grimacing were reduced by 82% and 65%, respectively, from control infant levels during the heel lance procedure. Heart rate also was reduced substantially by contact. CONCLUSION: Skin-to-skin contact is a remarkably potent intervention against the pain experienced during heel stick in newborns.