Pacifiers at Frederiksberg Have by zaxer
Babies do suck, as attested to by the pacifier tree above, lots of them, and they seem to like it. This interesting article in Salon, follows the history of pacifier use, and the subsequent guilt it evokes in parents. I would advise skipping pacifiers for at least the first month or so, not because of nipple confusion, but because it can inhibit a mom's milk supply. The more the baby sucks on something besides the mother, the less signals her brain and body are receiving to produce milk. If you have sore nipples and all of that non-nutritive sucking is giving you blisters, try offering your clean finger nail side down. If you ultimately decide on a pacifier go for a BPA-free one with a silicone nipple. If your baby is in the NICU, pacifiers have been shown to be useful in extending the breastfeeding relationship. I think to extend that conclusion, as he does in the article, to full term, vigorous and healthy breastfed infants is fallacious. In the end pacifier use, like all parenting issues, is a personal decision.
If you'd like to learn more about the wonderful pacifier tree tradition that they have at this Denmark park, read here. It's such a sweet tradition, and shows what meaning these tots give to their pacifiers, what a strong attachment!
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