How to Know if Your Baby is in Pain and What You Can do to Soothe

Infants may not be able to tell you when they are in pain but these signs might provide parents some clues on what to do.

Pain in babies or specifically the question if babies feel pain, has been the subject of debate within the medical profession for centuries. Until 1987, infants were not administered anesthetics when undergoing surgeries in the United States.

Although this might sound cruel now, the main reason this was the norm up until then was because medical practitioners were concerned that anesthetic drugs could harm or kill the child.

On some level however, the medical professionals had also convinced themselves that babies can’t feel pain.

Today, it is widely accepted that newborns and possibly even fetuses can experience pain, but that is a discussion for another day.

No matter what the debate, for parents, especially new parents, it is never easy to watch their bundle of joy suffer helplessly.

Part of the challenge is that infants communicate a variety of messages and needs through crying including hunger, pain, fatigue and discomfort. This makes crying an unreliable pain indicator in babies.

But pain management has come a long way now with tools like Kipuwex that measure physiological parameters to indicate pain in infants on a scale of 0–10. It’s undoubtedly a blessing for parents.

But in the absence of tools like the Kipuwex, how can you as a parent, know when your baby is in pain? And what can you do to soothe and provide relief to your baby when he or she is in pain?

These are the two areas we will be discussing in this article.

How to know if your baby is in pain

The following are some of the signals you can watch out for to determine if your baby or infant is in pain.

1. Some infants cry and draw their legs up to their abdomen, typically when experiencing a stomach ache.
2. Although crying is a common signal of pain, some babies become silent and still when extremely sick, frail or are prematurely born. It does not mean that they are beyond recognising or feeling pain, they just lack the energy to react to it.
3. Babies in pain are also irritable, restless and fussy. They may refuse to eat and struggle to fall asleep or remain asleep for hours.
4. Some infants squirm and vigorously bend their arms and legs.They tense up their muscles, clench their fists or keep their body rigid.
5. Babies may also display a deeply furrowed brow with eyes squeezed shut when they’re in pain. Their chins too may quiver.

These are just some of the symptoms that babies display when they are in pain. Yes, it is possible that your newborn baby may show other symptoms, so pay attention to those before you rule out pain as the reason for your baby’s discomfort.

If however, you notice one or more of these symptoms, as a parent, you have a major role in comforting and calming your baby.

Some very simple actions have been proven to be effective in providing relief to infants in pain, so please don’t stress out too much and use the opportunity to bond with your baby instead.

How to comfort a baby in pain

You might have heard of the famous discovery where babies who were not held and hugged enough stopped growing and eventually died when the situation persisted. Researchers proved this when analyzing orphanages with 30–40% infant mortality rates.

Tiffany Field, an expert in the area of touch, found that premature babies who received just three 15-minute sessions of touch therapy daily, gained 47% more weight.

In recent years, more studies have revealed the incredible emotional and physical health benefits of touch. Some experts such as Dr. Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley believe that touch is truly fundamental to human communication, bonding, and health.

If touch is indeed such a powerful ingredient in the development of infants (and perhaps even in the wellbeing of adults), we suggest parents to emphasise skin-to-skin touch when trying to comfort their babies in pain.

Swaddling or just holding the baby with arms tight against the body so that they are more contained and move less, has been shown to comfort and reduce pain.

But there are also other pain management methods that don’t involve drugs to calm and soothe your baby naturally:

1. Breastfeeding, giving expressed breast milk or even a pacifier to suck on can help an infant cope with pain.
2. It can also help to simply look at and talk gently to the baby, while stroking the face, back, hands or legs. Distractions such as a soothing voice, music, stories, or songs can shift the infant’s attention away from the pain.
3. Another simple way to soothe is to give the baby sucrose or sugar water to suck. It’s not fully clear how it helps, but it does seem to comfort babies to some extent.
4. Removing the infant from an environment or changing the environment of the baby can also help them calm down when there is less noise and activity.
5. Almost all babies love the gentle rocking motion so a baby in pain might be comforted by the slow, steady movement in his or her parent’s arms.
6. Rubbing or gently massaging the baby will help relax the muscles and nerves that send pain messages to the brain and reduce the sensation of pain.
7. Placing a warm or cool towel on the baby can also reduce pain from inflammation or sore muscles.

Although these can help infants cope with temporary pain, they don’t solve underlying medical problems such as an ear infection or colic, for example.

Please consult a doctor for proper diagnosis and medication if the baby shows prolonged signs of distress.

Even though it may be challenging to recognise the signs your baby is trying to show you but as a parent, only you can make the important decisions that your baby needs to grow and thrive.

If at any time you feel very strongly about your baby’s behaviour or suspect that something might not be right, talk to your doctor immediately. It is better to err on the side of caution.

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