Effect of suckling on the peripheral sensitivity of full-term newborn infants.

BACKGROUND: Sucking may reduce the manifestations of pain in newborn infants. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of suckling on the threshold for peripheral somatosensory responses. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Graded Von Frey filaments were applied to the heel to initiate peripheral somatosensory responses (withdrawal reflex and gross body movements) in term infants. RESULTS: Dummy sucking increases the somatosensory threshold, but breast feeding had a more marked effect, increasing the threshold of the flexion withdrawal reflex (p