Procedural Pain Relief in Premature Neonates

This Bachelor's thesis deals with the topic of procedural pain management in preterm newborns. Procedural pain is caused during medical procedures. Long-term exposure to pain has a variety of consequences, which is why it is very important to pay attention to the procedural pain prevention management. The first aim of the thesis was to explore the possibilities of assessing procedural pain in premature neonates. The second aim was to map the available methods of procedural pain management, followed by the final goal to identify the possibilities of involving mothers of premature neonates in the procedural pain prevention management. The research part of the paper was based on a qualitative investigation by means of questioning and observation. Data collection was carried out using in-depth interviews with paediatric nurses and mothers of premature neonates. Next part of the research involved observation of paediatric nurses during painful procedures. The information obtained was logged in observation sheets. Research has shown that there is currently a great effort to reduce the number of painful procedures that preterm newborns have to undergo. It was found that when evaluating procedural pain, all circumstances must be taken into account and not evaluated only according to a given scale. According to the research, the most effective of the non-pharmacological methods of pain relief is direct contact between mother and child. Pharmacological methods of pain relief are used in rare cases. It was also confirmed that there is currently a great effort to involve parents in the care of preterm newborns, but this needs to be further intensified and fathers need to be engaged more, for example. The results obtained from the research can be used in the education of paediatric nurses. An educational leaflet for mothers has also been developed