Premature babies 'feel true pain'

Experts have never been sure how a premature baby responds to pain, the 'Journal of Neuroscience' reported.

But a team from UCL found that they do feel pain after analysing brain scans taken when blood samples were being drawn.

They hope the findings will lead to more formal plans for managing pain in premature babies.

Lead researcher Professor Maria Fitzgerald (UCL Anatomy & Developmental Biology) said: "We have shown for the first time that the information about pain reaches the brain in premature babies.

"Beforehand, although we could assume it, we did not know for sure that these babies could feel pain.

"These babies' brains are so immature that it was difficult to genuinely know that the pain was going to their brain." …

Researchers conducted brain scans on 18 babies in the neonatal unit at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital in central London. …

The scientists registered the brain activity in the babies - aged between 25 and 45 weeks from conception - before, during and after nurses performed blood tests using a heel lance.

The results showed a surge of blood and oxygen in the sensory area of their brains, meaning the pain was processed in the higher levels of the brain, the team said. …

Each baby requiring intensive care is subjected to an average of 14 procedures per day, many of which are considered by clinical staff to be painful, such as heel lancing for blood tests and inserting chest tubes. …

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