Abstract
Obstetric analgesia in the form of pethidine (meperidine) to mothers during delivery has adverse effects on some aspects of the behaviour of their newborn infants. The non-nutritive sucking (NNS) pattern of nine healthy full-term infants exposed to pethidine in utero was compared to that of a control group of infants. The pattern was analysed and quantified using an automatic computer-based method. The results are discussed in the context of endogenous and exogenous opiates and their effect on brain-stem rhythm generators. The typical NNS pattern with alternating sucking activity (bursts) and pauses is preserved in the exposed infants. There is a significantly lower sucking frequency (md 1.74 vs 1.90 Hz, p = 0.030*) and a tendency to a less stable rhythm in pethidine-exposed infants.
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