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December 2012 Moms
Pacifiers/Breastfeading and SIDS?
So there was an article posted on Yahoo today regarding Pacifiers and the germs associated with them.I have read so much conflicting information about pacifiers that I don't know what to do.
I am planning on breastfeeding my son for as long as possible and have read that if you give a baby a pacifier too early he/she will tend to reject the breast?
However, according to this article it says that giving a baby a pacifier during the night reduces the risk of SIDS up to 90% (even though they are not sure why) in the first 6 months.
In the article it also states that pacifiers are breading grounds for bacteria -- which is pretty gross and can cause sickness.
Are you ladies planning on using pacifiers? If so when are you going to introduce a paci to the baby? This is the first I've heard of pacifiers reducing the risk for SIDS, anyone else heard this before?
Here is the article:
https://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/pacifiers-teem-staph-and-other-germs
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pacifiers/Breastfeading and SIDS?
I plan on using them for sleeping to reduce SIDS... I have heard and seen that information several places, and what I read was it helps keep the air way open... just like mouth guards do for adults, which is what helps minimize the SIDS risk.
I can see germs being an issue with pacifiers, however this wouldn't be something new. Germs are not all bad for babies... most of the time germs help build their immunity system (this is my belief and you won't change my mind on this, so no need to try to prove me wrong here).
ETA: After actually reading the full article I have a few more comments
"Parents wouldn?t eat with a dirty fork, but they often think nothing of picking a pacifier up off the floor at a mall and popping it back in their baby?s mouth,? says Dr. Glass.
This line right here kinda makes the article loose most credibility here. I don't know a single parent that would do this!
Plus it recommends washing the paci on a regular basis... not even sure why this would need to be spelled out... it is common sense.
I don't see me throwing one out after 2 weeks though.
Personally I wouldn't go crazy about a Yahoo News article. I find they tend to post a lot of junk or (this is the cynic in me) that it's sponsored deep down by someone with vested interest. If the NYT published this article (maybe they have? Not sure) I'd give it more clout.
Pacifiers absolutely are prone to bacteria - they get moist and fall on services. For the first 6 months we washed DS' off every time it feel out of his mouth which was A LOT!
As for BFing and paci use. Some say nipple confusion is a real thing others say it's a myth but many sources say to wait until 3 weeks when your supply and latch are a little more established and then gauge whether it's affected baby's latch.
We were anti paci but the sucking helped DS swallow saliva and helped him with gas. Also it is a huge comfor for them. I didn't mind it after a while. Truthfully if it isn't a paci...they're are many other avenues that they'll be exposed to disesases - relative's hands or public places. But just use common sense!
I'm not opposed to pacifiers, but DD was never a huge fan and admittedly we never really encouraged it.
As far as it reducing SIDs, they have been saying that for awhile, so I'm sure it's valid. But there are a lot of ways to reduce SIDs:
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Expands-Guidelines-for-Infant-Sleep-Safety-and-SIDS-Risk-Reduction.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token
The risk of SIDs is highest between 2-4 months, so I would say maybe trying introducing it around that time if you can hold off. This way your milk supply is well established and at that point your baby should be a pro at BFing and nipple confusion shouldn't be a big concern.
Pacifier problems seem to vary a lot between babies. At first I was hesitant to give DS1 a pacifier because of nipple confusion, concerns about "addiction" etc. But he was such a little sucker! He often wanted something to suck on even when he was not hungry (and he used my boob as a pacifier a lot). So I broke down and let him have one, as long as I was sure he wasn't hungry. He never was a huge fan, he always preferred me to a pacifier, but sometimes it helped. He ditched them on his own around 8 months (I think, hard to remember!).
Based on my experience - that it was only a marginally helpful thing and we had no problems getting rid of it, I plan to use it with this LO if she wants it.
I kept around 6 available at all times to rotate through, and sterilized them all in microwave sterilizing bags every day. I also used paci wipes when we were out, and paci clips to keep him from dropping them. I think when they are little it's relatively easy to keep track of them and how clean they are - once they are walking around and taking them in and out on their own is when you have to really watch out, and we had stopped using them by that time.
I also plan to BF. I did hear that delaying offering the paci until BFing is established is best, but I also read an article several months ago that said there was no correlation between paci use and BFing rates.
I used a paci from day two with DS and I bf just fine for 14months. He never had nipple confusion or anything like that. He started taking a bottle with bm at 2w also. Just so my DH could bond with him and we could go out to dinner if we wanted to and have grandparents watch him. Yeah of course there are germs. They are every where. You can't have them live in a bubble, germs help so much with their immune systems. Now I'm not saying stick the paci in their mouth after it fell on the floor at the grocery store. I always kept wet wipes on me to clean them, then I would stick it in my mouth to get the ickiness from the wipes off for him. Sounds odd, but when you are a mom you do those things.
ETA
I plan on using a paci again also. It helps them self sooth and helps prevent SIDS.
Wash and sanitize them frequently, and bacteria won't be a problem.
I waited until DS was 1 month old before introducing a paci.
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DS didn't get a binkie in the hospital, and he would not stop BFing. I had to pry him off of my breast after almost 2 hours of him attempting to BF on the last day in the hospital so we could put him in the car seat and go home. When we got home, I fed him again, then finally put a binkie in his mouth - and he was as happy as could be. He was just a kid who needed to suck on something! He never had any problems with BFing because of it. He gave his up on his own when he was a little over 2.5yo. DD wasn't as interested, but when you have 2u2 and both are crying, you will try anything to make one stop - so I kept offering her one. Now she is a binkie addict (but she is and has been only allowed to have it in her crib since before she was a year old).
As for the germs - when they are little and out and about with them, I carried paci wipes with me and would wipe them off constantly. I also threw them in the microwave sterilizer a few times a week, and had a rotation of binkies to choose from. I am much more lax now - but as I said, she only uses it in her crib, so it is her own germs. When it falls on the floor, I wash it off with soap and water, or throw it in the dishwasher and give her a clean one. And routinely will throw them in the dishwasher 1-2 x a week.
Both of my kids have been pretty healthy up until this point! They only started getting sick when going to pre-school, and no binkies go there
ETA: And I will definitely have binkies on hand for #3 - decreasing the risk of SIDS is enough for me!
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This was our scenario with both DDs. However, I slacked on the bottle w/DD2 and she ended up never taking it. DD2 loved her paci for naps & sleep, while DD1 found her thumb around 4 months and the paci was given up.
I would abandon any preconceived notions regarding what you will/won't do when and if you BF. Some kids are suckers, and will happily stay on the nipple for hours to comfort suck, and there are some moms that are content with that. I was not one. I gave DD1 the paci, she was content, and we all were happier.
I HAVE to go back to work. My child is going to HAVE to take a bottle. My job is flexible in the fact I can pretty much run home whenever I need to, but its not in the fact I still have to go to work, stop cars, work wrecks and work so my job is justified.
So. Unless I see stats otherwise, my babe is getting a Paci and a bottle.
If possible, wait until breastfeeding (latch and supply) is well-established before introducing any pacifiers or bottles. The real issue is with nipple confusion, and so long as you get baby to learn what nursing feels like and associate it with food, the likelihood of a pacifier messing that up is lower.
We did use a pacifier last time, introduced at just past 2 weeks. We offered it 3 times before he actually took to it, but he loved that thing (and honestly still gets it sometimes when he's cranky).
Make sure to wash and disinfect pacifiers regularly. I used a Medela microsteam bag (made for pump parts, but works on things like pacifiers and bottle nipples, too) for disinfecting quickly, easily, and often without having to boil a whole pot of water. We also used a tether to keep it off the ground except when he was sleeping (to avoid risk of strangulation).
The reduction in SIDS risk is enough for me to encourage use of it once breastfeeding is going well this time. I've gotten a lot of sh!t from people about it, but when I ask about finger sucking every single person that didn't use pacis with their kids did have finger suckers. And stopping a child from sucking on thumbs is a whole lot harder than weaning from a pacifier.
Yup, all of this.
Honestly, it's an old wives tale about rejecting the breast. Some babies might end up with a preference in how they suck, I.E. preferring a bottle to nipple, but they will also learn that sucking a pacifier won't give them milk.
To me, reducing the risk of sids outweighs the benefits of being EBF. It would be an extra hassle to pump and bottle feed if the baby does in fact have a problem returning to the breast, but to me it's worth it.
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I just read an article about this. They say that paci's reduce the risk of SIDS and should be introduced when breast feeding has been established.
My question is this: How do we know when breast feeding has been established? I assume it would be when our milk supply is in completely and the baby is nursing regularily? Would this happen within the first week or two?
On the whole "does it cause nipple confusion" thing...
Some babies, yes. Some babies, no.
I say: Don't worry too much about it. If you give a paci early on and bf'ing all of the sudden goes off track not all is lost. Just stop offering the bink and get your bf'ing re-established and stash the binkies in a drawer for awhile. Or forever, whatever works for you.
we used binkis from day 1 with DD and she had no problem nursing. I plan to do the same with this DD. If there are any latching problems or nipple confusion we'll deal with it then, but the SIDS risk outweighs the potential problem in my book. just my $0.02
I gave my son pacifiers pretty early on. He would fall asleep while BFing and it left a a lot of chaffing. He would suck for comfort, sometimes, not for hunger, which is why I gave him a pacifier. He did both fine. But it is recommended to wait.
I'm getting mixed reviews of when is a good time to introduce such things. Some articles say a month, some say 6 weeks. I have to introduce a bottle prior to 6 weeks, because I have to return to work at 6 weeks, assuming my position is still available to me since I've used up my FMLA.
As for bacteria... I rotated through pacifiers, and I would clean them like a bottle, then boil them to kill any bacteria. DS only got sick once before a year old... So, he survived. I think it just depends on how well and how often you clean a pacifier.