Are Pacifiers Safe for Your Baby? See Top Pros & Cons

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Babies love sucking and offering them a pacifier often has a soothing effect. However, the question is are pacifiers good for your baby? See the major pros and cons you should know about its use below….

Pros

*Offering a pacifier may help discourage baby from sucking on their thumb, which are likely infected with germs or bacteria. In addition, since pacifiers are disposable, it’s easier to stop baby from further use when you deem fit than breaking baby’s thumb sucking habit.

*It often keeps babies calm and helps soothe them when fussy. Mums with colicky babies, especially, find pacifiers very helpful.

*May help baby drift off to sleep, especially after a satisfying feed.

*Helps soothe teething discomfort as well as others, including ear pain.

*Can be used to distract baby and buy time to attend to other things when baby needs to nurse or during and after shots or other procedures at the hospital.

*Sucking on a pacifier during naps and at bedtime may also help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Cons

*Offering baby a pacifier before he’s 3-4 weeks old and you’ve created an effective breastfeeding routine may prevent baby from learning how to nurse properly as sucking on a breast is different from sucking on a pacifier or bottle. This may contribute to having an unpleasant nursing experience and make you decide to breastfeed for only a few months.

*Baby may become addicted or too dependent on the pacifier. A baby who is used to having a pacifier in his mouth may become unusually fussy when deprived of it. One who always falls asleep with it in his mouth may also wake at night and cry when it falls off or is removed from his mouth.

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*Some babies use pacifiers till they are very well over two years. Prolonged pacifier use may lead to significant dental problems, including misaligned teeth.

*It may also increase occurrence of middle ear infections. Note however that middle ear infection risk is usually lowest from birth – 6 months old when baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which pacifiers may help decrease, is the highest.

In conclusion, moderate use of pacifiers after an effective and pleasant breastfeeding routine is established, and stopping its use before baby turns two may likely not cause any harm.

Photo credit: mommybrown.com