Healthy term newborns commonly undergo painful procedures even if they do not need intensive care. Heel lance for neonatal screening is the most frequent standardized painful procedure performed in these newborns. Until recently, analgesics were rarely administered to neonates because it was believed that they were less sensitive to pain than more mature infants but current studies suggest that newborns are able to perceive pain. Regardless of the available evidence, appropriate systematic analgesia in common painful procedures in neonates is far from adequate.