Pain Reactivity to Non-Pharmacological Interventions Across Repeated Routine Heel-Sticks in Preterm Infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Switzerland is having one of the highest premature rates in Europa and most of the preterm neonates need neonatal intensive care. Up to 80% of the analgesic used in neonatal intensive care units are either "off label used" or "non-licensed" used. As an alternative approach non-pharmacological interventions for pain prevention and relief are increasingly being recommended for the prevention and treatment of mild and moderate pain in this population. This multicenter pilot study will use a randomized three group,repeated measures design. The primary aims of this study of premature neonates are to: 1.) Estimate effect sizes for the impact of the proposed interventions(facilitated tucking alone, sucrose alone and sucrose in combination with tucking)on pain reactivity. 2.) Examine the impact of gestational age on the estimates of efficacy 3.) Examine the impact of the numbers of painful procedures the infant experiences and the concurrent use of analgesic medications on the estimates of efficacy