Parents' awareness and use of nonpharmacological methods to manage their baby's procedural pain in a surgical neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Parents whose babies had undergone major surgery and were admitted to the surgical neonatal intensive care unit for more than five days, and who could communicate in English were surveyed to explore their use of nonpharmacological methods to manage their baby's procedural pain in the post-operative period. Eighty-one parents, including 48 mothers, completed a 4-part questionnaire. Parents most frequently used physical and comforting touch methods to comfort their babies. Skin-to-skin care, sucrose, breastmilk-scented pads, and breastfeeding were least frequently used. While the majority of parents were aware of most unit practices regarding their baby's pain management, some practices needing greater awareness were identified. These findings highlight the need to promote a range of parent-led nonpharmacological pain management methods. This could be achieved by educating clinicians to collaboratively support and encourage parents' involvement in managing their baby's pain.