pacifiers

CNN.com - Study says pacifiers have little benefit - July 18, 2001

July 18, 2001 Posted: 9:49 AM EDT (1349 GMT)

 

(CNN) -- Pacifiers may not interfere with breast-feeding as much as some studies have suggested, researchers reported Tuesday, but they also may not do much to calm a crying baby.

Scientists at McGill University in Canada set out to determine whether giving a fussy baby a pacifier leads the child to stop breast-feeding early -- within the first three months. Many previous studies have suggested a link, and international health groups such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund advise against pacifiers for this reason.

"Breast-feeding comes first," said Dr. Mark Weissman of Children's National Medical Center. "We really want to reinforce and support that every way we can."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding because the nutrients in human milk help the baby develop antibodies to infections, and improve cognitive and visual development.  

The McGill researchers found that using a pacifier did not actually cause a child to wean too early. But they said pacifier use may be "a marker of breast-feeding difficulties or reduced motivation to breast-feed."

"Although it may be a marker -- in other words, mothers who are giving up breast-feeding may use pacifiers more -- it really does not appear to be the cause of the termination of breast-feeding," explained Dr. David Horwitz of NYU Medical Center.

The study appears in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers studied 281 healthy women who had given birth to single, healthy babies and who planned to breast-feed for at least three months.

They divided the women into two groups. Both groups were given instruction in breast-feeding, but one group was asked to avoid using a pacifier to quiet the babies. Instead, the mothers were instructed to try breast-feeding first, then to try other methods like rocking or carrying the infant. Mothers in the second group were allowed to use pacifiers as well as other methods to quiet their babies.

After nine weeks, the researchers found that about the same number of infants in each group weaned or stopped breast-feeding exclusively before three months of age.

They also found that the babies in each group had similar bouts of crying and fussing regardless of whether they were given a pacifier.

"Pacifiers also don't help babies stop crying and fussing very much, if at all," said Horwitz. "In fact, they really serve no particular benefit."

The researchers said larger studies are needed to verify their findings, but they said their work should cause experts to rethink their opposition to pacifiers.

"For most babies, using a pacifier on an occasional basis isn't going to get in the way of successful feeding," Weisman agreed.

Some pediatricians say parents who do give babies a pacifier should stop doing so by the time the child is six months old. Any longer than that and the baby can become dependent, they say. In addition, pacifiers immobilize the tongue and may interfere with speech development.

The official position of the American Academy of Pediatrics -- Pacifiers don't cause medical or psychological problems as long as they're only used between feedings.

CNN Medical Correspondent Rea Blakey contributed to this report.