Redefining and implementing parent controlled analgesia through active parent engagement in neonatal pain treatment

• Involvement of parents in neonatal pain management is of increased interest in both research and clinical settings. From an evolutionary view, the mother is the optimal source of physical and psychological support for the infant, both as a fetus and after birth. Hospital care and medical interventions are sources of separation and stress, leading to a diminished capacity for the infant to endure painful procedures and situations. After decades of healthcare providers not recognising newborn infants’ capacity to feel pain and the associated adverse outcomes, most surgical and end-of-life pain is now prevented and treated with pharmacological methods. However, the drugs used are often not effective for the most common repeated painful procedures, and have potential short and long-term adverse effects. Recent research has thus focused on finding non-pharmacological interventions as a substitute to drugs, or to decrease the drug-doses needed for optimal analgesia. Several of these interventions involve parents, e.g. skin-to-skin care, breastfeeding, or facilitated tucking by parents.In this workshop we suggest redefining PCA from Patient Controlled Analgesia to Parent Controlled Analgesia that includes the parents of the newborn infant. This implies a change of role of parents, from being present or being advocates for their infant, to being responsible for their infants as pain-free. We will discuss obstacles and facilitators, in both high and low resource settings, for implementing a structured and highly recommended participation of parents in the pain management of their infant.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Pediatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Pediatrics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Pain

Newborn Infant

Parent

Pediatrik

Pediatrics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)