Research

Heel lance in newborn during breastfeeding: an evaluation of analgesic effect of this procedure

Elena Uga¹ , Manuela Candriella¹ , Antonella Perino¹ , Viviana Alloni¹ , Giuseppina Angilella¹ , Michela Trada¹ , Anna Maria Ziliotto¹ , Maura Barbara Rossi¹ , Danila Tozzini¹ , Clelia Tripaldi² , Michela Vaglio¹ , Luigina Grossi¹ , Michaela Allen³ and Sandro Provera¹

¹  Department of Paediatrics, S. Andrea Hospital-ASL VC, Vercelli, Italy

²  Department of Paediatrics, Hospital of Putignano-ASL BA, Bari, Italy

³  General Practitioner, ASL Pavia, Pavia, Italy

author email corresponding author email

Italian Journal of Pediatrics 2008, 34:3doi:10.1186/1824-7288-34-3

Published:	18 November 2008

Abstract

Objectives

The reduction of pain due to routine invasive procedures (capillary heel stick blood sampling for neonatal metabolic screening) in the newborn is an important objective for the so-called "Hospital with no pain". Practices such as skin to skin contact, or breastfeeding, in healthy newborn, may represent an alternative to the use of analgesic drugs. The aim of our work is to evaluate the analgesic effect of breastfeeding during heel puncture in full term healthy newborn.

Methods

We studied 200 healthy full term newborns (100 cases and 100 controls), proposing the puncture to mothers during breastfeeding, and explaining to them all the advantages of this practice. Pain assessment was evaluated by DAN scale (Douleur Aigue Nouveau ne scale).

Results

The difference in score of pain according to the DAN scale was significant in the two groups of patients (p = 0.000); the medium score was 5.15 for controls and 2.65 for cases (newborns sampled during breastfeeding).

Conclusion

Our results confirmed the evidence of analgesic effect of breastfeeding during heel puncture. This procedure could easily be adopted routinely in maternity wards.