Over the past three decades, researchers have attempted to address the optimal treatment of recurrent pain exposure in vulnerable, prematurely delivered infants requiring specialized neonatal care. Emphasis has been placed on eliminating the myth that preterm infants do not feel or remember pain, accurate assessment of pain in nonverbal populations, consequences of untreated pain, optimal management, underlying mechanisms associated with pain-relieving interventions, and, more recently, novel knowledge translation strategies targeting practice change.

One concerning element raised by this body of pain research relates to the frequency of repeated untreated exposure to tissue-breaking procedural pain in this high-risk population. A review of epidemiological studies reported 7–17 exposures daily, with less than half associated with any form of pain relief.1 Moreover, this untreated pain in early life has been linked with immediate adverse physiological effects as well as long-lasting alteration in pain sensitivity and response, brain development, growth, cognitive function, behavioral concerns, emotional regulation, and epigenetic changes.2

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