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Heel stick is the most common painful procedure for preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units. Resultant pain causes adverse physiological effects in major organ systems. Kangaroo Care (KC), involving mother-infant skin-to-skin contact is a promising analgesic for infant pain; however, the effect of KC on the autonomic nervous system's response to pain is unknown.

To determine if KC results in improved balance in autonomic responses to heel stick pain than the standard method where infants remain in an incubator care (IC) for the heel stick.

A randomized cross-over trial.

Fourteen preterm infants, 30–32 weeks gestational age and less than 9 days postnatal age.

Infant behavioral state, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) indices including low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) power, and the LF/HF ratio measured over …