Pacifiers: Good or Bad?
Some parents swear their children will not be “Binkie Babies,” unable to smile without a pacifier falling out of their mouth. Other parents refuse to leave the house without a pacifier in the baby’s mouth and a spare in the diaper bag. Why all the controversy? Is there a right or wrong?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests – if you want to breastfeed – waiting to give a pacifier to your baby until breastfeeding is established. Depending on the baby, this could be a few days or a few weeks. The AAP has performed several studies that show early introduction of a pacifier (before breastfeeding is established) may interrupt normal breastfeeding and lead to less breastfeeding overall. However, they have also done a couple studies that indicate that using a pacifier during sleep may help prevent SIDS. No cause and effect relationship has been established here—it just seems that of the babies who died from SIDS, fewer were using a pacifier.
Obvious advantages to using a pacifier include an easy calming solution and a great distraction. Also, when it is time to stop sucking (around two or three years) a pacifier can be thrown away. Babies like to suck, and many will suck on their thumb if they don’t have a pacifier. It is easier to wean a baby from a pacifier than from a thumb!
Disadvantages of pacifiers include a dependence on them and teeth problems if used much past the age of two or three. One dentist said that a pacifier can be a problem for growing teeth, but it is better to suck on a pacifier than to suck on a thumb or chew on a hand. The Mayo Clinic also says that pacifiers have been associated with more middle ear problems. However, they point out that middle ear problems do not occur often during the first six months, and that is when pacifiers are usually used.
To use a pacifier, then, or not? Most experts agree you should let your baby decide. If you do use it, wait until breastfeeding is established and try not to let your baby become too attached to it.
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