Preterm birth rates are rising worldwide, including in Europe. In 2014, Switzerland's rate of premature births reached 7.2%. Still, while significant progress in neonatal care has increased the long-term survival of preterm infants, other long-term outcomes remain problematic. As a result, affected infants commonly undergo exceedingly high numbers of painful procedures on a daily basis. For many, these treatment interventions take place at a crucial period in the development of the nociceptive and central nervous systems, i.e., at a developmental stage when repeated painful stimulus may induce both structural and functional reorganization of the nervous system and an altered pain response.