Baby’s first pain
Babies’ brains start distinguishing a painful prick from a harmless touch just before they’re born, a new study shows. By monitoring electrical activity of premature babies’ brains, researchers found that infants born before about 35 weeks of gestation didn’t distinguish between a painful heel prick (required for a blood sample) and a painless touch.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.