Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 234

Compared with vision and hearing, we know much less about the sense of touch in infants. In early infancy, touch, especially with the mouth, is a critical means of learning about the world (Piaget, 1936/1952). The mouth is the first part of the body to show sensitivity to touch prenatally and remains one of the most sensitive areas to touch after birth.

Touch, specifically a caregiver’s massage, can reduce stress responses in preterm and full-term neonates and is associated with weight gain in newborns (Álvarez et al., 2017). Skin-to-skin contact with a caregiver, as in kangaroo care (see Chapter 3), has an analgesic effect, reducing infants’ pain response to being stuck with a needle for vaccination (Pandita et al., 2018). Although it was once believed that newborns were too immature to feel pain, we now know that the capacity to feel pain develops even before birth. In one study, fetuses as early as 24 weeks of age observed with sophisticated ultrasound technology showed facial expressions suggesting distress or pain in response to a needle prick (Reissland, Francis, & Mason, 2013). The neonate’s capacity to feel pain has influenced debates about infant circumcision, as discussed in the Lives in Context feature.