Why It’s Healthy To Use a Pacifier
3min. read
Pacifiers might be small in size, but they sure can provide a lot of comfort. We’ve put together this guide to help you understand how a pacifier supports your baby as they get to know the world.
Why do babies suckle?
To understand how a pacifier can support your baby, we first need to delve into why babies suckle. In short: they can’t help it! Babies are born with a natural need to suckle anything that’s placed in their mouth. As your little one grows, this reflex will slowly disappear.
Is all suckling the same?
Believe it or not, not all suckling is the same! There are actually two different types:
- Nutritive suckling—suckling that happens as your baby feeds
- Non-nutritive suckling—any suckling that doesn’t happen while feeding
A pacifier, as you probably guessed, fits into the non-nutritive camp.
So, what are the benefits of suckling?
When it comes to nutritive suckling the benefits might seem obvious: your baby is able to draw out milk from breast or a bottle.
There’s also a whole lot more going on behind the scenes. These are the key benefits of both non-nutritive and nutritive suckling that you might not know about:
Better coordination
Finally, suckling of the non-nutritive kind gives your little one some extra practice coordinating a suckle-swallow-breathe action. These three steps allow your baby to feed effectively from a breast or bottle.
Anything else I should know?
So now that you know suckling and using a pacifier supports your little one, here are a few extra tips to keep in mind as they grow.
- If you’re struggling to establish breastfeeding, wait a month before offering a pacifier.
- Because suckling makes your baby feel full and sleepy, it’s best not to offer a pacifier before a feed.
- For this same reason, it’s best to use a pacifier right before nap time, or after a feed. And only as long as your baby needs it.
- Like anything, it’s best not to become too reliant on one thing. As your baby grows, try to vary the kind of comfort you give your little one by offering a cuddle or a toy.
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