Cuddles Stop Baby Pain

By Ryan Curtis

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal have discovered that premature babies, born after only 28 to 31 weeks, benefit from cuddling, before, during, and after painful procedures. The specific type of cuddling used in the experiments was referred to as “kangaroo mother care”, so named because the practice of cuddling infants while injuring them is very popular among marsupials.

The mothers were asked to hold their babies for 15 minutes prior to and during a heel lance procedure, while researchers stood by and assessed the agony. Using the “Premature Infant Pain Profile,” or PIPP, which was devised using methods that are too horrible to imagine, the

researchers determined that cuddling decreased lingering pain caused by the procedure significantly.

Previously, it had been thought that babies born this early did not benefit from skin-to-skin contact, and enjoyed being stabbed in the heel. But when kangaroo mother care was being used, facial expressions of pain were noted in less than half the stabbings. None of the babies seemed to truly appreciate and enjoy the procedure.

For very premature infants, lessening their PIPP score in any way increases their chances of survival. This approach to premature baby care also has benefits for the mothers, who may forget they gave birth while their babies are in researchers’ incubators.

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