RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Effect of suckling on the peripheral sensitivity of full-term newborn infants
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
JO Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP F130
OP F131
DO 10.1136/adc.2006.097931
VO 92
IS 2
A1 H M Abdulkader
A1 Y Freer
A1 S M Fleetwood-Walker
A1 N McIntosh
YR 2007
UL http://fn.bmj.com/content/92/2/F130.abstract
AB Background: Sucking may reduce the manifestations of pain in newborn infants. Objective: To examine the effect of suckling on the threshold for peripheral somatosensory responses. Subjects and methods: Graded Von Frey filaments were applied to the heel to initiate peripheral somatosensory responses (withdrawal reflex and gross body movements) in term infants. Results: Dummy sucking increases the somatosensory threshold, but breast feeding had a more marked effect, increasing the threshold of the flexion withdrawal reflex (p⩽0.002) and the threshold for gross body movements (p⩽0.002). Conclusion: Peripheral sensitivity of newborn infants is considerably reduced during sucking, particularly at the breast.