What is a common misconception about infant pain perception?

• A. Infants feel pain only when they are older.
• B. Infants do not feel pain as adults do.
• C. Infants feel pain more intensely than adults.
• D. Infants never experience pain.

Answer: (B)

Infants are capable of feeling pain from birth; their nervous system has the receptors and pathways needed to detect noxious stimuli and the brain can register pain signals. A frequent misunderstanding is that infants don’t feel pain the way older children or adults do. In reality, they may respond differently because their nervous system is immature, so their reactions can be subtler or more variable. But pain is real for them, and their distress is valid. Signs include crying, facial grimacing, and withdrawal, along with physiological changes like an increased heart rate or changes in oxygen saturation. Not treating infant pain can have implications for how they respond to future pain and stress. That’s why assessing and managing pain in infants with appropriate analgesia and comforting care is important, even though their expressions of pain may look different from those of older patients.