Monique wrote that << I personally would be PO'd if someone gave me a sucrose
pacifier for pain relief and I suspect would be better able than an infant to
register my complaints, >> and others have posted similar sentiments.

I gotta say I think our prejudices are running away with us here.  What we
are offered for pain relief depends on what kind of pain we are in.  Many,
many small surgical procedures are done with no pain relief at all -- when
was the last time someone offered you or your kids a nerve block for
stitches?    And how many of us have complained on this list and elsewhere
about the over-readiness to give drug-type pain relief to those women in
labor who could profit more from other forms of support (which as many have
noted do indeed include getting to eat more than ice chips if desired!)?

If what people mean is really, "I think circumcision is a major and hugely
painful procedure and needs a penile dorsal nerve block rather than mere
analgesic this-and-that," well, OK.   That's a perfectly reasonable position
vis-a-vis the whole circ discussion, which as is well known we aren't getting
into on LN (anybody who wants to hear my extensive thoughts privately feel
free to let me know!).

But not everything that happens to babies is as traumatic as, let's say, that
view of a hospital circumcision.  Certainly heel sticks, injections, etc etc
are not exactly open heart surgery -- they are all done on the rest of us
with no analgesics at all -- but it still might be nice for a baby to have a
little relief even if you and I don't need it.   And in that context bf and
snuggling, or even a sucrose paci, don't seem like cruel interventions --
really they seem nicer than nothing, and nothing, ordinarily would do.

So the question isn't whether a sucrose pacifier is the best pain relief for
every single circumstance.  The question is whether or not it is a useful
tool to help some babies in some situations.   And Peggy's study suggests
that yes, sometimes, it is.   As far as I can make out that should be true
even for those who say, "Well, I would use something stronger for a circ, but
it's good to know that this is available for other less painful but still
unpleasant situations."

So lets please try not to get onto high horse tones that are really
transplanted from other discussions (in this case, banned-on-lactnet
discussions) and are accordingly not necessarily appropriate answers to the
specific problem in front of us.

Elisheva in NYC

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