Commentary: An international study on innovations in the management of children's pain

Children have a right to adequate pain relief and to be protected from unnecessary pain, yet we know that they continue to experience unnecessary pain and practices fail to address this critical aspect of healthcare. Pain can have significant short and long term effects on children. Where once it was thought babies did not feel pain, we now understand that because of their development processes, infants and young children may in fact experience more pain sensation and pain related distress following noxious stimulus than adults. The impact of a pain experience on a child’s nervous system can result in a lowered pain threshold, meaning that subsequent painful experiences are in effect made even more painful.