Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 1;21(4):267-273.
doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000000793.

Development of an Interprofessional Policy on the Use of Human Milk and Breastfeeding for Pain Relief

Tori Graf  1 , Emily Duffey, Diane Spatz
Affiliations

Development of an Interprofessional Policy on the Use of Human Milk and Breastfeeding for Pain Relief

Tori Graf et al. Adv Neonatal Care. .

Abstract

Background: Infants are subjected to painful procedures as part of routine care. Evidence suggests human milk (HM) has pain-relieving qualities; however, nurses may not be aware of this evidence.

Purpose: This article presents the evidence for HM and breastfeeding for pain management, as well as describes using the evidence to create an interprofessional enterprise-wide policy on the topic.

Methods/search strategy: Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, and Medline were searched for full-length articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2012 and 2020. Articles using HM as an independent variable during a painful procedure, or discussing benefits of HM for pain management, were analyzed.

Findings/results: Ten articles were selected for evaluating use of HM for pain relief in term and preterm infants. There is statistically significant evidence that expressed HM has pain-relieving abilities, especially when combined with other soothing interventions such as rocking. HM reduces crying time, and lowers pain scores during painful procedures. Seven articles recommend breastfeeding for effective pain management. Breastfeeding reduces crying time, heart rate, and pain scores compared with oral sucrose, holding, nonnutritive sucking, swaddling, and topical anesthetics.

Implications for practice: Breastfeeding and HM should be offered as primary pain management options. Having an interprofessional enterprise-wide policy for the use of breastfeeding and HM for pain management during painful procedures, such as vaccination, will provide safe, effective pain management.

Implications for research: Further understanding of effective HM dosing for pain management and use of pasteurized donor HM in place of expressed HM is required.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Benoit B, Martin-Meisener R, Latimer M, Campbell-Yeo M. Breastfeeding analgesia in infants. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs. 2017;31(2):145–159.
    1. Perry M, Tan Z, Chen J, Weidig T, Xu W, Cong XS. Neonatal pain: perceptions and current practice. Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2018;30(4):549–561.
    1. Peng HF, Yin T, Yang L, et al. Non-nutritive sucking, oral breast milk, and facilitated tucking relieve preterm infant pain during heel-stick procedures: a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Int J Nurs Stud. 2018;77:162–170.
    1. McNair C, Campbell-Yeo M, Johnston C, Taddio A. Nonpharmacologic management of pain during common needle puncture procedures in infants: current research evidence and practical considerations: an update. Clin Perinatol. 2019;46(4):709–730.
    1. Aydin D, Inal S. Effects of breastfeeding and heel warming on pain levels during heel stick in neonates. Int J Nurs Pract. 2019;25(3):1–8. doi:10.1111/inj.12734.