Pacifiers: pros and cons

Many new parents struggle with this decision and also struggle with the guilt if they do use a pacifier or the guilt for baby crying if they don’t. There are many different opinions and myths about pacifiers such as children refusing to speak, having crooked teeth for life and young babies refusing to breastfeed. For the guilty parents everywhere, here are a few facts that might help make the decision easier:

1. Four studies have shown that babies who use pacifiers halve their risk of SIDS. Although more research is needed before we all rush out and make babies use pacifiers whether they want them or not, we should at least give these studies serious consideration. It is not yet known why pacifiers may help prevent SIDS but it may be due to the fact that sucking a pacifier keeps a baby in a lighter sleep phase. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently advised parents to offer babies a dummy at bedtime from birth to one year.
2. Studies of newborns have shown no evidence of so-called nipple confusion. Babies do seem to be able to suck for comfort on a pacifier yet know how to feed from the breast without mixing the two. Studies have actually shown a very different action is required to hold a dummy in the mouth for comfort to that required to latch onto the breast and feed. This might explain why they have no problem switching between one and the other without confusion.
3. Babies who are given pacifiers tend to wean earlier, on average, than babies who are not given pacifiers. Anxious mothers who feel they do not have enough milk to satisfy their babies often add extra bottle-feeds to supplement breastfeeding. These same mothers tend to be more likely to use pacifiers to soothe their babies. The extra feeds and pacifiers in between may well lead to less breast stimulation, less milk and an earlier cessation of breastfeeding.
4. Adults who used pacifiers as babies are less likely to smoke. Human babies have a very real need to suck for comfort and it is becoming apparent that a lack of comfort and skin to skin contact can cause addictive behaviours in later life.
5. Some toddlers over the age of two may damage the position of their teeth by continuing to use a pacifier. Certainly not all children who use pacifiers suffer misaligned teeth. However, dental studies show that a pacifier used in a certain way beyond two to three years might contribute to teeth being pushed out in the upper jaw. These same studies, however, found that finger or thumb sucking will usually cause even more damage and can also cause decay.

The best decision seems to use a pacifier for your son or daughter during night sleeps. During the long periods of time while he or she is awake and tries to communicate with you or when to experiment with sounds on the path to learning to talk it's better not to interfere.