Pacifier use has other upsides as well. Pacifiers can also help babies fall asleep. Sometimes this is all it takes to help her and everyone else in the house fall back asleep. Research has shown that after 6 months of age, the negatives of pacifier use may begin to outweigh the positives. Prolonged pacifier use has been correlated with an increased risk of ear infections, as well as problems with oral motor development.
For optimal oral motor development, your baby needs to be able to freely move her jaw, tongue and lips. This is especially important during gross motor movement, because gross motor milestones correspond with oral motor milestones. When she is crawling, for instance, the side-to-side movements of her body are also happening inside her mouth.
Having a pacifier in her mouth while she is crawling can take away from strengthening those mouth movements, which allow her to bite and chew food, and make more complex speech sounds. Prolonged pacifier use can also cause problems with proper growth of the mouth and may lead to misaligned teeth, a poorly-shaped roof of the mouth, tongue protrusion, and reduced lip and cheek strength.
All of this can interfere with feeding and speech development. Finally, pacifiers can take away from the benefits of play. Babies naturally use their mouths to explore objects, which helps them understand concepts like shape, temperature, and texture.
Play also drives development through meaningful interactions with a caregiver. You will notice that if you play with your baby without a pacifier in her mouth, she will make more sounds and facial expressions. All of that said, we believe pacifiers have their place. Sucking on a pacifier will calm your baby. It can even help a baby fall asleep. Many parents find pacifiers helpful at night or in public areas.
This includes vaccinations and blood tests. Doctors believe this may be because babies sleep lighter while sucking the pacifier. Things to consider Giving a baby a pacifier too early may make it difficult to learn to breastfeed properly.
If your child uses a pacifier, remember these helpful tips: Never force your baby to use a pacifier. Never put anything on the pacifier to encourage your child to use it honey, sugar. Always buy one-piece pacifiers. Two-piece pacifiers can break and become choking hazards. Never add a tie or ribbon to the pacifier. Never tie it around your child or the bed. It can strangle your baby.
Make sure the shield has hole in it. When trying to calm your baby, try other methods first. There's no denying that pacifiers can work remarkably well at comforting your baby and calming her crying, especially if she has a strong need to suck but hasn't yet figured out how to get her fingers in her mouth.
But there are some potential pitfalls to be aware of before introducing your baby to a pacifier. Here's what you need to know about giving your baby a pacifier. Yes, you can definitely try giving your baby a pacifier. Pacifiers can also come in handy if your little one needs to be distracted at the doctor or if her ears start popping on an airplane.
On the other hand, some babies show little interest in them, especially if they find their thumb or their fingers first.
And pacifiers do have some downsides, so weigh both the positives and negatives to make a decision that's best for your baby. That's because the sucking mechanism for breastfeeding is different from that used for sucking on a pacifier.
Here are some pacifier pros and cons to take into consideration:. Despite what you might have heard, there's not much evidence that pacifiers cause nipple confusion. Best Pacifiers Cluster Feeding. And once you find it, buy a few!
Breastfeeding and dummy use have a protective effect on sudden infant death syndrome. Acta Paediatri. Moon RY. On the aetiology of malocclusion. Br J Orthod. Latest revision In: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, editor. The reference manual of pediatric dentistry. Pillai Riddell RR et al. Infantile Colic: Recognition and Treatment. American Family Physician.
Lam T. Approach to infantile colic in primary care. Singapore Med J.
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