AUTHOR=Filippa Manuela , Poisbeau Pierrick , Mairesse Jérôme , Monaci Maria Grazia , Baud Olivier , Hüppi Petra , Grandjean Didier , Kuhn Pierre 

TITLE=Pain, Parental Involvement, and Oxytocin in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00715

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00715

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Preterm infants (PTI) typically experience many painful and stressful procedures or events during their first weeks of life in a neonatal intensive care unit, and these can profoundly impact subsequent brain development and function. Several protective interventions during this sensitive period stimulate the oxytocin system, reduce pain and stress, and improve brain development. This review provides an overview of the environmental risk factors experienced by PTI during hospitalization, with a focus on the effects of pain, and early maternal separation. We also describe the long-term adverse effects of the simultaneous experiences of pain and maternal separation, and the potential beneficial effects of maternal vocalizations, parental contact, and several related processes, which appear to be mediated by the oxytocin system.</p>