Newborns in intensive care units may undergo hundreds of painful or stressful procedures — usually without painkillers, according to a study out today.

On each day in intensive care, babies underwent an average of 16 procedures, such as needle sticks or bandage removals, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Because of the difficulty of drawing blood from such tiny veins, one procedure could actually involve 10 to 15 needle sticks.

One baby in the study had 95 "heel sticks" in two weeks, the study said.

"This is barbaric," said co-author K.J.S. Anand, a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Anand said doctors have a number of ways to relieve infant pain: by providing acetaminophen or other drugs, anesthetic creams or even a small dose of sugar, which blocks pain signals in the brain. "Kangaroo care," in which parents hold an undressed baby on their bare chests with as much skin contact as possible, also blocks pain signals and provides comfort.

Yet hospital staff provided analgesia in only 20 percent of procedures, according to the French-led study of 430 newborns, conducted in hospitals around Paris. The study's main author, Ricardo Carbajal, said the situation is almost certainly the same in the United States.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement in 2006 that recommended specific methods for reducing infant discomfort, including urging hospitals to perform as few painful procedures as possible.

Neuroscientist Rebeccah Slater of University College London said she hopes the study will change hospital practices.

Unrelieved pain may alter how children later sense and react to pain, Anand said. Babies stuck repeatedly with needles may cry and suffer more during later vaccinations, for example.

THIS WON'T HURT ...

Babies are more likely to receive pain relief if their parents are present during procedures, a new study shows. Hospitals can take other measures to ease pain. They could: