Background. Newborn infants experience painful procedures; under-treating infant pain has demonstrated consequences. Research has shown that sucrose may decrease infant pain responses. The study objective was to determine sucrose's efficacy and safety in reducing pain responses in infants undergoing repeated painful procedures.Methods. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, full-term infants born to diabetic mothers received either 2 mL 24% sucrose or 2 mL water orally, prior to all painful procedures. Pain was measured by facial grimacing, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. Vomiting, blood-glucose levels, and de-saturations were recorded to evaluate safety.Results. Sucrose administration decreased facial grimacing during the recovery phase, increased heart rate during the procedure, had no affect on oxygen saturation, and was not associated with adverse events.Conclusions. Sucrose is a weak analgesic for full-term infants of diabetic mothers during heel lances for blood-glucose monitoring. Further study is needed to determine when sucrose is most effective.