La perception tactile et ses implications dans la prise en charge néonatale.

The challenge of neonatal care is to overcome the risks posed by the transnatal discontinuity, particularly in case of premature birth when this discontinuity occurs at a non-optimal time in development. For this reason, sensory therapeutic interventions are proposed in Neonatology units. They frequently involve tactile stimulation, based on the importance of the tactile modality for physical and psychological growth, well-being and bonding of the human neonate. However, despite the early development of the tactile modality and its critical role in neonatal interactions with the environment, we still lack fundamental knowledge of its functioning and long-term implications on motor, emotional, cognitive, and social development. This knowledge is needed for clinicians to propose innovative therapeutic interventions, adapted to the capabilities of premature neonates. Therefore, we propose to take advantage of tactile processing abilities in preterm neonates, like their orienting responses, to characterize interactions between tactile perception, developmental care, and pain management methods. Evaluation and understanding of these interactions are indeed necessary to imagine preventive and therapeutic tactile interventions for neonatal care, which respect the balance between shortterm benefits and long-term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]