Babies born prematurely cannot get used to prolonged or recurrent pain. Reported by University College London.
The study involved 20 infants from University College London (UCLH) hospitals. Half of these were premature, while the other half were either term (seven babies) or preterm but reached “term” age at the time of the study (three babies). The two groups were similar in terms of actual postnatal age.
The researchers measured the infants’ response to a painful heel blood test, which was done twice (between 3 and 18 minutes) for each baby. In most cases, only one puncture is sufficient, but the study particularly involved children who only need two to collect the required amount of blood.
Heel punctures can cause a severe pain response in infants, but it was previously unknown whether this was relieved by repeated punctures. To figure this out, the researchers recorded the children’s brain activity using electroencephalography, their heart rate using EKG, and also tracked their facial expressions and reflexes in response to the injection.
It turned out that the brain activity after the second heel piercing was not as strong compared to the first, indicating the dependence on pain. However, this phenomenon was observed only in term infants. This was noticed in both heart rate and facial expressions, as premature babies responded equally strongly to both heel punctures.
Formerly doctors in your name conditions that can cause cardiac arrest in a woman during childbirth.
Source: Gazeta
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