Private Practice Lactation Consultant, MI

When compared to sucrose water, providing breastfeeding during a painful procedure provides more effective infant analgesia. An Italian study compared infant pain scores during a heel stick procedure using either sucrose water or breastfeeding to control pain. In this randomized controlled study, 101 term infants undergoing heel lance were either breastfed or fed 1ml of a 25 % sucrose solution with a syringe. Pain was monitored using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PPIP), heart rate increase, oxygen saturation decrease, and crying behavior. Infants who were breastfed during this procedure had a five point difference in terms of their PPIP score (scale range: 0-18) with the average being about three points (minimal pain response). The heart rate increase and the oxygen saturation decrease were significantly lower in the breastfed group compared to the sucrose group. The result ultimately reflected that breastfeeding provides superior analgesia for heel lance in term infants. The reason for this difference between the use of sucrose water and breastfeeding is not fully explained. Pain relief by sweet solutions is known to be due to an endogenous opioid release. Pain relief through breastfeeding is likely attributed to,