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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
Published on: December 20, 2011
Skin-to-skin contact is analgesic in healthy newborns
1Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. lag@bu.edu
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.
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