Soothe babies with sweetness during vaccinations
New research finds that the best way to calm infants during vaccinations is to cater to their sweet tooth.
Researchers at Jordan University of Science and Technology in Jordan analyzed data from 14 prior studies involving more than 1,500 babies aged one year or less.
Results shows that when babies were given a sugar solution dripped into their mouths two minutes before the injection, they cried less -- about 13.5 seconds less -- compared to babies in the control group, who were given drops of water.
Since babies can receive as many as 15 jabs during their first 18 months, parents and doctors alike want to find an easy, practical way to manage the pain, writes MyHealthNewsDaily.
However the researchers add that further work needs to be done to determine the sugar concentration that works best and to extend the research to measure other indicators of pain beyond crying, such as rapid breathing and facial expressions.
The study appears in the December issue of the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
