Reading this article today: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1028872/Heel-prick-blood-tests-DO-hurt-baby-says-study.html
Says that babies do feel the pain caused by heel prick pain.
I never thought they didn't feel it, but I felt it was probably short lived and least problematic for contact soreness.

feet are VERY sensitive though

isn't there an alternative?

There is, though I know little about it, blood can be collected from finger tips or the back of the hand and they use tiny tiny tubes which sort of vacuum up the blood if it's placed next to it. I think it's called a capillary tube.

I always thought they felt the pain - Baby Alien screeched the place down when he had his heel prick done, and again when I later tried to gently remove the cotton wool that had stuck to it with some warm water, so I knew it must be sore for him.

He had less problems with his thighs when he had his immunisations. I've got the 1 yr ones to look forward to now. :/

:( yeah my baby son (Tyler) felt his too....When he was born they had to do heal pricks every 3 hours to check his sugar levels, poor little mite was screaming every time anyone touched his feet. By the time he was discharged his feet where blue from the bruising.

Although i know it was for his own good i couldn't help but fell guilty having people stick needles in him every 3hrs.

I hated it when Rachel was in hospital because she had jaundice and had to have blood taken from her heel twice a day. She screamed the place down and I felt so bad and cried almost every time. I felt like I should be preventing this from happening to her.

It was for her own good but by the end of the 7 days her feet were a mess. She hated anyone touching her feet for ages after because I think the fact that they had to squeeze the blood out was worse than the initial prick.

When Scarlett had her heel prick done very little blood came out so the mw had to end up using my diabetes finger prick pen and jabbed her about 6 or 7 times to get enough. The pricking didn't bother her it was the squeezing of the foot the baby didn't like. The same when she had to have her blood sugar done in the hosp.

Poor wee things, you feel worse for them than they do!

I would have thought it was obvious that they feel pain with the heel prick test due to the screaming during it! :(