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Fetal pain: implications for research and practice
Author(s) -
Glover Vivette,
Fisk Nicholas M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1999.tb08424.x
Subject(s) - fetus , psychology , medicine , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Pain is a subjective experience. The fetus cannot tell us what it is feeling, and there is no objective method for the direct measurement of pain. To address the question of pain in the fetus, one must use indirect evidence from a variety of sources, and then make an informed guess. This approach is similar to that which we use with animals. We cannot ask animals how they feel, but infer from a variety of indirect approaches including study of their behaviour, anatomy, and physiology.