One of the saddest facial expressions is the look a baby gives her mother or father when she gets a shot.  This is what makes shots worse for parents.  Babies are very oriented in the present and once the pain from the shot has faded, they are ready to put it behind them.  Even though parents know that shots are very important for their child’s health, parents retain some piece of guilt for a while. 

So, what can be done to decrease pain with the infant vaccines?  Pediatricians and nurses are not heartless and recently there have been a number of studies looking at just this issue.

Two things seem to clearly help.

The first is sucrose/sugar water.  Small amounts of this (1 tablespoon or so), given right before the vaccines decreased the length of time that 2-month to 6-month olds cry after vaccines. (We have this in the clinic-if we forget to offer it, remind us!)

Choosing the order of giving the vaccines also makes a difference.  Giving DaTP/Hib (hemophilus influenza) before PCV (pneumococcal) decreases pain.

And of course, snuggling with Mom or Dad right after the shots remains the most important thing.