Research reveals the important role of parenting touch on their infant's brain

New research, published yesterday, revealed that newborns who undergo blood testing by pricking the heels of the foot, have a lower response to pain signals in their brains, if a parent holds them, and there is direct contact.

Scientists studied brain activity in 27 children up to three months old, while they were undergoing blood testing by pricking the heel of the foot, and concluded that those whose parents carried them while they were covered by clothes or blankets were not calm, indicating that direct contact is critical.

"While we cannot confirm whether a child is actually experiencing less pain, our findings reinforce the important role of contact between parents and their newborn babies," said Lorenzo Fabrizi, a physician at London College who co-led the research.

He added, "When one of the parents carries the child and direct contact is made, the pain signals in the brain are weakened to some extent," according to "Reuters".

In the study published in the European Journal of Pain, Fabrizi's team found that the brain's initial response to pain was the same whether there was direct or through contact with clothing.

But they said that the heel prick when it triggered a series of four to five waves of brain activity, the subsequent waves of activity diminished in children whose parents carried them when there was direct contact.