Comments on: Drawing Blood From Baby Can Be a Harrowing Experience

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 23:09:13 +0000

In reply to Ansu shrestha. Was a bandaid used? Baby may be sensitive to adhesive, many are.

By: Sandisiwe

Sandisiwe — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 19:15:44 +0000

In reply to Mumzie. Experienced the same thing today I am angry cause I did nothing,I have had sleepless night,cause of my baby my hope was for her to heal ,but what she went through today is unbearable....what hurts the most I stood there and did nothing.

By: Pamela A Weymouth

Pamela A Weymouth — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 01:31:42 +0000

Hi! If you need any more help I do coaching for overcoming needle fear in children. mightykidscan.com Happy to help you!

By: Francis

Francis — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 02:37:53 +0000

This is very good giving tips on how to draw blood on an infant. I guess it is best to draw blood from the heel so that the infant may not notice it. All the while i thought that drawing blood is always done on the arm.
This gives a me relief since my niece is still 3 years old and very afraid of doctors and needles.

By: Jahnavi Jaanu

Jahnavi Jaanu — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 15:34:09 +0000

The situation of drawing blood from the baby is an ever painful event for the mother. Still, thank you so much for the helpful tips and advice shared. This gives some sort of relaxation.

By: Pamela A Weymouth

Pamela A Weymouth — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 18:02:22 +0000

In reply to Kevin McKeever.

Hi Kevin, Great article. I’m a mom of a child who was very traumatized by blood draws for 8+ years. I’ve worked hard to create a system to reduce needle trauma in children and I’m now offering coaching and a 7 Step plan to reduce needle fear and trauma in kids! I’d love to share this with you and see if you’d like to share with your readers! Learn more at http://www.mightykidscan.com I’ve not posted my plan for free, but I do have several blogs in which I describe some of the steps. Hope you are staying safe and let me know if you’d like to learn more! You’re totally right about hydration and pediatric needle size but there are a few more excellent tools and tricks that you could add to help families even more! warmly, Pamela

By: Kit

Kit — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 13:46:03 +0000

In reply to Kelly. Amen! As a phlebotomist for 37 years, I’ve drawn so many children and infants it’s hard to count. Even after all these years of experience, it is still very stressful to draw little ones! Their veins are sometimes very hard to find and even with a parent holding and someone helping hold the arm, it’s still tough! But to the parents, we are NOT trying to hurt your child! We first of all want to hit the vein and 2nd want to get the proper amount and a good sample so the results will be accurate! So please don’t get angry and huff and puff when it’s not going right, we’re really trying our best!

By: Kevin McKeever

Kevin McKeever — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 21:44:18 +0000

In reply to Erin. Thanks for the info, Erin.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 18:17:15 +0000

this is an old article, but wanted to make sure there was clarification about “Newborns should get blood drawn from the heel”. This isn’t necessarily true. My newborn routinely needed basic and comprehensive metabolic panels, particularly for potassium levels. If you do a heel stick, it will most certainly give a false elevated level. So, it has to be a venous draw every single time, because the K+ levels determines the medication dosage.
The choice of how blood is drawn is determined by test and specifically what the doctor will use it for.
With that said, I have seen some amazing phlebotomists that can get a perfect venous draw in a minute from a 6 month old. And, I’ve seen some really terrible ones. Some signs that it’s a terrible one: takes forever to “find a vein”, has to wait to use one of those vein finder things, says that while they wait for the vein finder they can do a heel stick for the other tests (don’t subject your baby to both if you HAVE to have a venous draw for BMP). If they do any of these things then politely decline their services and wait until they can find someone that is experienced in getting blood from babies.

By: Kristin B

Kristin B — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 06:39:45 +0000

Quest diagnostics in Auburn Ca TRAUMATIZED my 13 month old and myself. Lets just say she gave me the responsibilities of holding my infant still. While poking her arm deep in search for a vien? It was the most horrific experience. My child was insanely strong and fought hard. I was sweating trying to restrict her from moving. But the nurse was moving too the needle moving under her skin. My baby ended up pulling away and the needle came out. She had a HUGE bruise. Only then did she ask for another technician. I was already having traumamatic stressful emotional pain for my child. And she says we need to do it again. She tried to sooth my child and and apologized and stepped away. Only to do it again, my child was screaming and choking in fear before the second needle got near her. Again she poked abd proded my baby’s other arm looking for a vien, my daughter was hyperventilating and snot was pouring from her nose. It was absolutely the most stressful day as a mother. No other day was this intense not even the day she was born. My child has been SO fussy, her entire demeanor has changed. She cries for NO REASON never did before. She threw herself forward onto the floor today and she had Never behaved this way before this experience. Never again just NEVER.