Grant: Project Grant

In Canada, about 30,000 babies are born 2 to 4 months early (prematurely) every year. When these newborns are cared for in the hospital, they may undergo numerous medically required painful procedures every day and experience hundreds of stressful and painful events before they go home. Exposure to pain in these immature babies has negative effects on their developing brain. One standard way to diminish pain is to give a few drops of sugar water during mildly painful procedures. During the baby's hospital stay, this can amount to a lot of sugar. We still do not know enough about the safety of giving sugar in combination with pain. It is possible that receiving sugar to treat pain over many days may cause inflammation and we aim to examine this possibility. It is also possible that this exposure early on in their development may affect growth hormones. We will study sugar water treatment with pain in baby mice to determine if there are negative effects on brain development and their behaviour, and determine if inflammation may be causing these effects. We will also test if giving a growth hormone treatment can help protect the developing brain. Effectively treating pain in immature newborns translates to improved outcomes on their immediate stability and later development, with lasting benefits throughout their lives. This research is essential to provide the best care practices and improve the health of babies born prematurely in Canada and worldwide.