Breastfeeding and pacifier use?

Question

I have a one month old that I am breastfeeding. She has no trouble latching on at all! The problem I am having is that even after she is done eating she wants my nipple in her mouth. If I take it out she gets mad and screams. Should I use a pacifier to help?

I heard that using a pacifier at bed time reduces the risk of sids, should i be using it then too?

Any advice would be really helpful! I am just not sure when or how long I should give her the paci. I dont want her to be dependant on it.

I am currently not using bottles but might be starting to in 2-3 months.

Answer 1

We gave a paci starting in the hospital.  At one month, it should have no impact on baby taking the breast.  

It does sound like a paci would help in this situation, if you are comfortable using them.

As far as bedtime, I think that is a personal decision.  We chose to use them for soothing purposes, not because of SIDS.

Our son got his paci when he was fussy but not hungry.  We stopped (for naps) around 4 months when we started CIO, and he dropped on his own not long after.

If you want to use it, go ahead.  You can worry about dependency when she gets older... as common wisdom says, she won't graduate high school with a paci in her mouht.

Answer 2

Pacifiers may or may not protect against SIDS -breastfeeding and room-sharing are proven to reduce the risks of SIDS.  Many, but not all, studies also show that pacifiers reduce the duration of breastfeeding.

The simple fact of the matter is babies come with moms, and all they need is mom.  Its perfectly normal for baby to want to continue to be at moms breast when they aren't "eating" particularly under 6-8 weeks.  And that "non-nutrative" suckling and skin-to-skin contact is important to moms supply, baby's well being, etc.  If you simply can't tolerate how much the baby is suckling then of course its better to use a pacifier then not to breastfeed at all.

PACIFIERS: IN OR OUT?

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t10460...

Our advice: Avoid pacifiers until your newborn learns to latch on properly and you have a good milk supply. If your own nipples are wearing out, or at least the mom they are attached to is, use your finger (or, better yet, get dad or someone else to give you a break). The skin-to-skin element is still there, and your index finger (or dad's little finger) can be placed more properly in baby's mouth to stimulate sucking at the breast. Many of our babies have been soothed by the touch of my well-scrubbed pinkie.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detthumb.h...

Re the thumb-sucking issue -- it is certainly true that ultrasound and photography in the womb shows fetuses sucking their thumbs, but then b*****s/nipples aren't available in the womb, but the suckling instinct is clearly present from an early age. Once the baby is born, however, the suckling instinct is supposed to be directed toward the breast, to get the child nutrition and immunities, and the sucking itself lowers the baby's heart rate and blood pressure. While it can be convenient for the parents to have the baby suck on their thumb or fingers or pacifier (like in the car on trips, or when mother is trying to cook dinner) it nevertheless is clear from both cross-cultural and cross-species field studies that, given complete contact with mother and free access to the breast on demand, human children (and young of our close relatives, the great apes) do not suck on their thumbs or fingers. I never saw a child in Mali sucking its thumb or fingers, in almost three years of watching/observing/studying mother-child interactions. Likewise, thumb sucking is reported to be completely absent from cultures such as the Navajo, in highland Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, the Peruvian Andes, Mexico, Nepal, India, Tanzania, Botswana, and South Africa. A number of other ethnographic studies of breastfeeding don't mention thumb sucking one way or another.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concern...

# When can I begin using a pacifier?

# What should I consider before using a pacifier?

# When to avoid the pacifier

# Can pacifiers help prevent SIDS?

# In conclusion...

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsuck.ht...

I don't like this term because it juxtaposes itself to "nutritive sucking" with the implication that "nutritive" sucking is REAL sucking, and the other is not. It also carries with it the implication that the main/only real purpose of breastfeeding is the transfer of nutrients. This is the message the infant formula companies have been pushing all along -- breastfeeding is JUST a way to feed your baby, and here's another which is better/as good/almost as good.

I don't think breastfeeding is "just" about feeding the baby, any more than s*x is "just" about creating babies. Breastfeeding the baby does provide food, and water. It also provides immunological factors, which may be what the baby is after (and why they nurse so often when sick, not just for comfort). The process of breastfeeding itself also regulates the baby's temperature and heart rate and lowers its blood pressure, and puts it to sleep. And then of course there are all those important social and emotional factors going on during the exchange. Dr. Blackburn's research on the evolution of mammary glands suggests that the original purpose of "lacteal fluids" was to kill germs in the offspring's gastro-intestinal tract and protect it from infections, and the nutritive components of breast milk only evolved later.

As long as breastfeeding is seen as only or even primarily a way to feed the baby, then bottle-feeding will be seen as equivalent or good enough (IMHO). We need to really try to get away from this idea that if the sucking is "non-nutritive" then it is optional, or can be replaced by a pacifier. I know that's not what was said in the earlier post, but it is the way many people feel -- that baby *shouldn't* want to nurse again, how could it *possibly* be hungry already? Well, maybe this time it wants to nurse because it is cold or lonely or agitated or sleepy/cranky. All of these are *equally* legitimate needs (once again, in my ever-so-humble opinion).

The Human Pacifier

http://www.llli.org//NB/NBJanFeb02p14.ht...

Answer 3

at the age your daughter is now I gave my oldest a pacifier, and had no problems with it. but I used very strict rules withit. I never gave to her unless she needed it. and she was broken of it before a year old. I also made sure she wasn't just hungry or needed something before I gave it to her. but babies do need to suck. not just want to. it is a reflex that they need to develop. so if she will take one then why not. but don't just shove it in her mouth at anytime.  

Answer 4

Pacifiers do not reduce the risk of sids. They do however increase the risk of teeth not coming through properly.

Whats wrong with letting her just suck on the breast? its comforting for them.