Music is powerful. As if for what one Naniin addition to putting the child to sleep, be able to visibly reduce pain levels. This is the conclusion of a study recently published in the journal Pediatric Researchwhich uses one of these melodies composed by Mozartto alleviate the discomfort of a group of toddlers about to perform heel test.
This test is done a few days after the baby is born. It consists in extracting small blood sample through the heel stick. The blood is then examined for signs metabolic diseasessuch as phenylketonuria or galactosemia. This is a very simple intervention, but babies are very sensitive patients who logically suffer from a puncture.
For this reason, the authors of the study, who come from New York Medical Center, decided to try the action of a lullaby to soothe the pain. It is obvious that infants cannot explain whether this sensation is more or less painful, but there are scales for quantifying pain in such small patients, so they were able to come up with some very interesting conclusions.
children and pain
To prick the heel of a newborn child is not the same as to an adult. This, outside small and vulnerable that we see them has a simple explanation. And the fact is that when we are born, we have a greater number of pain receptors known as nociceptors.
Also, one of the systems our body uses to control pain, known as descending braking system, very immature at the time of birth. Therefore, pain signals are much more intense, even with such a simple injection in the heel.
Lullaby effects to soothe the pain
This study included 100 infants with an average age of 2 days. They all passed the same test, but They were divided into two groups. Those who were supposed to enter the first group listened to Mozart’s lullaby for 20 minutes before and during the puncture, as well as five minutes after it. In contrast, the participants in the second group were not forced to listen to any music.
The second part of the study was to assess the level of pain in scale from 0 to 7based facial expressions, crying intensity, breathing patterns, limb movements, and alertness.
So they found a very clear difference between the two groups. The pain scores for children who heard the lullaby were 4 points at the time of the heel prick, 0 points one minute after the procedure, and 0 points two minutes later. In contrast, those who did not listen to the lullaby had pain scores of 7, 5.5, and 2, respectively.
pain was also assessed three minutes laterbut there were no differences. One thing is clear: the song relaxed them so much that when they listened to it, their pain level plummeted.
What is this for?
Some measures have already been taken to reduce the pain of babies. without the need for medication. For example, the test is usually performed in quiet rooms with low lighting and at room temperature, as there is also some accompanying relaxation.
As for the music, this is not the first time relaxing effect There have been many studies in adults in which melodies are used to improve sleep or even reduce anxiety before dental intervention.
Therefore, it was not unreasonable to think that the nanny could soothe pain in babies. Now we have seen that it really makes sense. More research will need to be done, and perhaps the same study can be done with more babies. If the conclusions are confirmed, perhaps in the future we will listen to lullabies in pediatric offices, but not in order to put children to sleep.
Source: Hiper Textual
