A review of the literature related to the impact of kangaroo care on neonatal procedural pain was carried out. Out of 93 abstracts, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. The researchers identified that there is evidence that kangaroo care can significantly reduce pain from a single pain procedure in full-term infants and stable preterm infants (>26 weeks GA). All 12 studies reported significant reduction in pain behaviour but measures of heart rate varied. However they noted that it is not possible to be certain about the magnitude of treatment effects.
