A study from the US which was done on 240
infants getting their routine vaccinations at 2-4 months found that treating
the kids to the 5 S's - swaddling, sucking, swinging,
shushing, and side/stomach position – significantly reduced crying in those babies after they got the needle.
The great benefit of that is that 1) it’s
perhaps the cheapest therapy you can find – a parent’s love, and 2) it might
reduce the need to use acetaminophen, which is commonly prescribed to calm babies
crying a lot after a shot, and that can only be a good thing since
acetaminophen use has been linked to several potential problems, including
perhaps interfering with the effectiveness of some vaccines and a higher risk
of asthma.
Interestingly, by the way, this study
relied on medical residents (presumably pediatric students) to provide the 5
S’s (that controls for how moms and dads might differ in techniques) but a
commentary accompanying the study said that some residents were not very
proficient in some of the S’s, such as swaddling.
Pretty worrisome, if you ask me, when
pediatric residents don’t know the elements of handling a baby normally.
