Horrifying New Study: Babies Feel Pain Like Adults But Most Not Given Pain Meds For Surgery

Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Well, this is horrifying.

The brains of babies ‘light up’ in a very similar way to adults when exposed to the same painful stimulus, a pioneering brain scanning study has discovered. It suggests that babies experience pain much like adults. As recently as the 1980s it was common practice for babies to be given neuromuscular blocks but no pain relief medication during surgery. In 2014 a review of neonatal pain management practice in intensive care highlighted that although such infants experience an average of 11 painful procedures per day 60% of babies do not receive any kind of pain medication.  Read More

Parents most commonly hear this canard when they’re preparing to have their boys circumcised but it applies to other procedures as well.  Parents, PLEASE be sure to advocate for your children if they are having medical procedures of any kind.  There are ways to safely manage your baby’s pain. Make sure your doc takes responsible steps to do so.  For more help in becoming a parent who knows how to trust your instincts and understand what even your littlest child is trying to tell you, check out Then Comes Baby:  The Catholic Guide to the First 3 Years of Parenthood and Parenting with Grace:  The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids.

Update from the Hutch: Pope Francis Praises Large Families

For all the cyber sturm und drang yesterday surrounding Pope Francis comment that Catholics don’t have to reproduce like rabbits to be faithful to the Church, many people forget that only a couple of short weeks before,

Image credit: Shutterstock. Used with permission.

Image credit: Shutterstock. Used with permission.

(yes, I know, a millennium in the news cycle), at the meeting of the National Association of Large Families, Pope Francis said some very supportive things about parents who are heroically generous in the service of life.

The presence of large families is a hope for society….Dear parents, I am grateful to you for the example of love towards life, that you preserve from conception to natural end, despite all the difficulties and burdens of life, and that unfortunately, the public institutions do not always help you….Therefore, I hope, also thinking of the low birth rate that has long been in Italy, for a greater focus on policy and administrators on a public level, in order to give due support to these families. Each family is a cell of society, but large families are a more rich cell, more vibrant, and the State has an interest in investing in it.  READ THE WHOLE SPEECH HERE.

But…wait!  Pope Francis couldn’t possibly be holding two equally important yet somewhat distinct thoughts in his head at the same exact time, could he?!?  That would be MADNESSS, I tell you!  MADNESS!

Ah, but the Catholic way, young padawan.  The Catholic way that is.

For more information about discerning God’s plan for your family size, check out, Holy Sex!  The Catholic Guide to Toe-Curling, Mind-Blowing,Infallible Loving.   

Wed 4/3 on More2Life Radio: It’s A Baby Bonanza!

 

Today on More2Life Radio it’s a Baby Bonanza!  As we celebrate the gift of new life at Easter, we’ll look at the joys and challenges of bringing new life into your world.  We’ll look at sleep issues, post-baby marriage maintenance, mommy care, and every other issue related to welcoming a little one to the family.

Don’t forget to respond to our More2Life FB Q of the D:  (Two-fer.  Answer one or both).  As a new parent (or when you were a new parent)…  1)  When do/did you feel closest to your baby?   2) What are/were your biggest post-baby challenges?

 

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