Breastfeeding or breast milk for procedural pain in neonates
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Physiological changes brought about by pain may contribute to the development of morbidity in neonates. Clinical studies have shown reduction in the changes in physiological parameters and pain score measurements following pre-emptive analgesic administration in situations where the neonate is experiencing pain or stress. Nonpharmacological measures (such as holding, swaddling, breastfeeding) and pharmacological measures (such as acetaminophen, sucrose and opioids) have been used for this purpose.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of breastfeeding or supplemental breast milk in reducing procedural pain in neonates. The secondary objective was to conduct subgroup analyses based on the type of control intervention, type of painful procedure, gestational age and the amount of supplemental breast milk given.
SEARCH STRATEGY: A literature search was performed using MEDLINE (1966 - Feb 2006), EMBASE (1980 - Feb 2006), CINAHL (1982 - Feb 2006), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 4, 2005 of Cochrane Library), abstracts from the annual meetings of the Society for Pediatric Research (1994 - 2006) and major pediatric pain conference proceedings. No language restrictions were applied.
SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials of breastfeeding or supplemental breast milk versus no treatment/other measures in neonates were eligible for inclusion in this review. The study must have…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Effect of dexamethasone as an analgesic adjuvant to multimodal pain treatment after total knee arthroplasty: randomised clinical trial
- Effect of a Postoperative Multimodal Opioid-Sparing Protocol vs Standard Opioid Prescribing on Postoperative Opioid Consumption After Knee or Shoulder Arthroscopy: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- Comparison of the Post-Caesarean Analgesic Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Paracetamol and Ketorolac: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- A triple-blind randomized clinical trial of different associations between dexamethasone and non-steroids anti-inflammatories for preemptive action in third molar extractions
- An open label randomized clinical trial of Indomethacin for mild and moderate hospitalised Covid-19 patients
- Oral paracetamol and/or ibuprofen for treating pain after soft tissue injuries: Single centre double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.