You will see this in the shopping malls, departmental stores, in flights, at the paediatrician's waiting area among other places: where a baby is quietly tugged in either her mother s or father s arm suckling on a pacifier. It looks cute for the onlookers. No mess, no wailing, just a calm and quiet baby going about cooperating with the parents to finish their business. If you are planning to do the same, don t! Pacifier isn t the best thing to offer your little baby. There is a reason why paediatricians are against it. Here are seven ways to handle your baby s temper tantrums.
Babies find it comfortable to suckle and giving a dummy fulfils this need and keeps them calm and quiet. But there is a lot of damage that parents do in the way. Remember, a pacifier isn't a substitute for nursing or feeding. Most newborns cry for a feed during the initial days. So even after feeding the baby and playing with her, if she is still fussy, then few mothers use pacifiers to calm them. But pacifiers have their own drawbacks, says Dr Suresh Gowda, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician, Motherhood Hospitals, Bengaluru.
It can interfere with breastfeeding: Early pacifier use can make it difficult for babies to carry on with smooth breastfeeding. Suckling on the breasts is different from sucking the dummy. Some babies are sensitive to these changes. If you encourage too much use of a pacifier your baby might not suckle on the breasts. This would mean problems at latching, low nutrient intake and an irritable and cranky baby. If your baby refuses to breastfeed and suckles just the pacifier in a way it could also be responsible for low weight gain. Read the answer to the question which every mom has in her mind, Why is my baby not gaining weight?
It can become an addiction: For some babies, the suckling comfort provided by the pacifier is so soothing that they become addicted to it. They may become dependent on the pacifier. This may lead to frequent middle-of-the-night crying spells when the pacifier falls out of your baby's mouth. Some mothers give the pacifier to help the baby sleep while sucking on it. This could also mean that you might find it difficult to set-up a proper sleep-wake cycle for your baby as she might refuse to sleep without the pacifier. Here are 10 sleep safe rules for your baby.
It can lead to middle ear infections: Now, the risks of middle ear infections are generally lowest from birth to six months of age when the risk of SIDS is the highest. But this is the time when you might be using the pacifier the most increasing the risk of middle ear infections. Most parents with small babies who rely on the pacifier too much end up nursing a middle ear infection too often. Here are eight symptoms of ear infection in babies that you should know.
It could lead to dental problems: Since the suckling and the biting has an effect on the jaws it can set a stage for dental problems. Prolonged pacifier use might cause a child's teeth to be misaligned.
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