Related Experiment Videos
[Stress in newborn infants: a literature review]
P Schotman-Schram1, P J Helders, C J Heijnen
1Laboratorium Pediatrische Immunologie, Universiteitskliniek voor kinderen en jeugdigen, Het Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis, Utrecht.
Insights
Handling sick newborns, particularly premature infants, is stressful. Researchers identified beta-endorphin as a reliable stress indicator for developing infant stress-reduction programs.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric stress physiology
- Endocrinology
Context:
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are environments where sick newborns, especially premature infants, undergo frequent handling.
- Such handling is widely considered a significant source of physiological and behavioral stress for these vulnerable infants.
- Developing effective stress-reducing interventions is crucial for improving neonatal outcomes.
Purpose:
- To systematically review the literature on stress parameters in newborns undergoing handling.
- To identify reliable biomarkers for quantifying stress in sick and premature infants.
- To provide a basis for the development of targeted stress-reduction strategies.
Summary:
- A literature review was conducted to assess stress parameters in newborns, with a focus on handling procedures.
- Analysis of available data indicates that beta-endorphin levels serve as a highly reliable indicator of stress in newborns.
- This finding highlights the potential of beta-endorphin as a key biomarker in neonatal stress research.
Impact:
- Provides evidence for utilizing beta-endorphin as a primary stress biomarker in neonatal research.
- Informs the design of future studies investigating the efficacy of stress-reduction interventions for premature and sick infants.
- Contributes to the advancement of evidence-based neonatal care practices aimed at minimizing infant distress.
Abstract:
All kinds of handling of sick newborn, especially premature babies, are thought to be stressful events. In order to develop stress reducing programs for those infants, a study was carried out into the reports of stress parameters for newborns in the current literature. B-endorphin answers the best to the needs for a reliable parameter in stress studies.