Does the Neonatal Facial Coding System Differentiate Between Infants Experiencing Pain-Related and Non-Pain-Related Distress?

Adding to the NFCS validity literature, this study suggests that while able to distinguish between no-distress and pain-related distress, facial actions of NFCS may not distinguish between pain-related and non-pain-related distress expressions. However, NFCS was able to discern infants presumed to have higher pain-related distress due to experiencing pre-needle distress.