title: Heel lance in newborn during breastfeeding: an evaluation of analgesic effect of this procedure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The reduction of pain due to routine invasive procedures (capillary heel stick blood sampling for neonatal metabolic screening) in the newborn is an important objective for the so-called "Hospital with no pain". Practices such as skin to skin contact, or breastfeeding, in healthy newborn, may represent an alternative to the use of analgesic drugs. The aim of our work is to evaluate the analgesic effect of breastfeeding during heel puncture in full term healthy newborn.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 200 healthy full term newborns (100 cases and 100 controls), proposing the puncture to mothers during breastfeeding, and explaining to them all the advantages of this practice. Pain assessment was evaluated by DAN scale (Douleur Aigue Nouveau ne scale).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The difference in score of pain according to the DAN scale was significant in the two groups of patients (p = 0.000); the medium score was 5.15 for controls and 2.65 for cases (newborns sampled during breastfeeding).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results confirmed the evidence of analgesic effect of breastfeeding during heel puncture. This procedure could easily be adopted routinely in maternity wards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, S, Andrea Hospital-ASL VC, Vercelli, Italy. elena.uga990@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uga
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candriella
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perino
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alloni
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Angilella
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trada
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ziliotto
authors.forename: Maura Barbara
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Danila
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tozzini
authors.forename: Clelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tripaldi
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaglio
authors.forename: Luigina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grossi
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Provera