Most babies love sucking on a soother between feeding times. MAM-expert Gabriele Stenz shares soother/pacifier pros and cons ; and explains how to use the soother correctly in order to establish a good breastfeeding relationship at the same time. She trains midwives and has gained extensive experience with pregnant women and nursing mothers over the course of many years.
Right after birth, babies want one thing above all else: to get to know their parents. All the baby's senses are focused on smelling, feeling, and hearing them. After just a short time, the newborn is ready to feed for the first time: it seeks out the breast and begins to suck. However, a little more practice is needed before breastfeeding works perfectly. But with a little time and patience, mother and baby will soon be a well-rehearsed team, says Gabriele Stenz, reassuringly.A soother can have a therapeutic effect on premature babies and is therefore helpful in certain cases.
The breastfeeding expert recommends: "For the first two to four weeks after birth, all sucking attempts by the baby are considered feeding."
After that, feeding becomes routine: the baby has mastered the technique and the parents can often tell when it is signaling hunger. The occasional use of a soother in an already established breastfeeding relationship without breastfeeding problems (sore nipples, blocked milk ducts, mastitis, etc.) does not seem to have a negative effect on breastfeeding. However, if breastfeeding problems already exist, the soother can make the situation worse.
"More often than feeding, relaxation and security are the reasons behind a child suckling."
(Gabriele Stenz, midwifery teacher)
A soother is the ideal aid to satisfy the non-nutritional urge to suck. Babies are experts at sucking: most babies can quickly distinguish between sucking on a soother and sucking in order to feed, says the MAM expert. And they like both – each has its place. International recommendations are provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in its Policy Statement on Breastfeeding (2012): they are to use soothers specifically and with a therapeutic background, and to offer the soother to aid in sleep once breastfeeding is successfully established.
Research has shown that soothers and breastfeeding are compatible.
In a large-scale study, Dr. Alejandro G. Jenik, head of Neonatology at the Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires (AR), and his team of researchers were able to show that soothers and breastfeeding work well together. The study involved over 1,000 mother and baby pairs at five different hospitals. The findings are clear: as soon as breastfeeding is established, the soother does not interfere with it. The researchers therefore recommend the use of a soother, because it can protect against sudden infant death syndrome. The soother has a protective effect against SIDS – however, this seems to be especially true for non-breastfed children. Furthermore, the protective effect only applies to use when falling asleep, not to use throughout the day.
A soother is a helpful aid in the following situations:
Soothers are available in different sizes, because there are big differences between tiny newborns and larger toddlers. The mouth and jaw are developing rapidly, and the soother needs to grow with your baby: the right-sized soother helps to support healthy development.
And another important tip from the MAM expert: "Age information provided on the packaging is for guidance only, as every child is unique. Big, strong babies go up to the next soother size earlier than small, delicate infants. In case of doubt, it is better to offer one that is a bit too small than one that is much too big."
Sources:
Jenik, Alejandro (2009): Does the Recommendation to Use a Pacifier Influence the Prevalence of Breastfeeding? The Journal of Pediatrics.