Kangaroo Care as Analgesic for Preterm Infants Undergoing Heel Sticks

Abstract

More than half a million infants are born preterm each year in the United States. Preterm infants often undergo many painful procedures starting minutes after birth. A preterm infant may have as many as 10 painful procedures in a 24 hour period. The experience of pain leads to negative physiological responses, creating additional risks for the preterm infants' immediate and long-term health. Research demonstrates that infants are often undertreated for pain. Kangaroo care is a promising, non-pharmacologic analgesic, implemented as skin-to-skin contact between the infant and a caregiver. The purpose of this paper is to review relevant research about the use of kangaroo care as pain management for preterm infants, and to present a proposal for implementing and evaluating a best practice protocol for kangaroo care as an analgesic in a neonatal intensive care unit.