Ten reasons to give your baby a pacifier.

May 23, 2022

 

TO PACIFY OR NOT TO PACIFY? 

Here are ten reasons you may want to give your baby a pacifier.

1. They help babies practice and coordinate their sucking and swallowing.
2. They soothe and pacify a baby when fussy. They are called pacifiers for a reason.
3. They calm babies and help them sleep longer. Mothers also get to sleep better.
4. They decrease your baby’s risk of sudden infant death, (SIDS)
5. They prevent spitting up and reflux. The constant sucking of the mouth transfers to the muscles of the throat and down to the food pipe and causes regurgitated milk to move back into the stomach. See image.
6. They act as a better alternative to thumb sucking and thus prevent babies from sucking their thumbs. Once thumb sucking is established, it’s very difficult to break this habit.
7. They prevent babies from over-feeding, especially bottle-fed babies—when a 1-month-old baby is acting hungry even though he just finished a 4 oz bottle, then a pacifier will calm that baby.
8. They sometimes help resolve an episode of hiccups. Not always, but sometimes.
9. They help calm a baby crying from colic.
10. They help mothers to prevent nipple crack from constantly using their nipples as a pacifier.
    
    

In summary, pacifiers are great at keeping a baby calm. However, like any other useful tool, there's a time to offer the pacifier and there's a time to withhold it.
You may learn more about when to pacify or not to pacify here

Always remember, as a mother, you're the expert on your baby, we're only here to offer suggestions.

Your Baby’s Comfort is Our Mission.

 

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