To Örebro University

Objectives: Parent’s active involvement during painful procedures is considered a critical first step in improving neonatal pain practices. Of the non-pharmacological approaches in use, the biopsychosocial perspective supports parent-delivered interventions, in which parents themselves mediate pain relief, consistent with modern family-integrated care. 

Methods: A scoping review was performed to achieve a broad understanding of the current level of evidence and uptake of parent-driven pain- and stress-relieving interventions in neonatal care. Specific objectives of the scoping review were to:1. Explore the breadth and extent of the literature, identify the types of available evidence, map and summarize the evidence, and inform future research on parent-delivered pain- and stress-relieving interventions in neonatal care. 2. Describe parents’ experiences of delivering pain and pain-related stress relief to their newborn infant. 3. Map and summarize recommendations as well as define knowledge gaps in national and international guidelines and in professional organizations or networks.


Results: There is strong evidence for the efficacy of skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding, 
preferably in combination. These parent-delivered interventions are safe, valid, and ready for 
 prompt introduction in infants’ pain care globally. Research into parents’ motivations for, and 
experiences of, alleviating infant pain is scarce. More research on parent-delivered 
pain alleviation, including relationship-based interventions such as the parent’s musical 
presence, is needed to advance infant pain care. Guidelines need to be updated to include infant pain management, parent-delivered interventions, and the synergistic effects of 
combining these interventions and to address parent involvement in low-income and low-tech 
settings.


Conclusions: A knowledge-to-practice gap currently remains in parent-delivered pain 
management for infants’ procedure-related pain. This scoping review highlights the many advantages of involving parents in pain management for the benefit not only of the infant and 
parent, but also of health care.