Maternal assessment of pain in premature infants

Abstract

Objective: to identify mothers' perceptions about the pain in their premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Methods: evaluative, quantitative study with investigative nature conducted with 19 mothers of hospitalized premature newborns. Data were obtained from closed questions, answered by mothers. Results: from the participants, two (10.5%) reported that newborns are unable to feel pain. From the 17 mothers who said that premature babies can feel pain, the majority (94.1%) identified crying as a characteristic of pain sensation. Eleven (64.7%) stated that uneasiness is a sign of pain in newborns. Conclusion: for the proper management of neonatal pain it is essential that mothers know the signs of pain in premature newborns, and that health professionals instruct this recognition, through the enhancement of the maternal presence and practice of effective communication between professionals and newborns’ families.