Pacifiers No Barrier To Breastfeeding Success - Page 3

[riversong]

I also have an oversupply and intense letdown. My first two dc used pacifiers to satisfy the need to suck when they were full of milk or when I was walking with them in a baby carrier and they wanted to suck to sleep. I hate the image of babiy constantly plugged up with a paci so I just offered it in certain situations when I knew it was what they needed. Dd gave hers up at 6 months on her own and ds1 gave his up around 9 months.

Our new baby is not interested in a pacifier. My MIL *could not wait* to buy him one, but I held her off until he was a month old. He sucked on it one time, but ever since then he gags when I put it in his mouth, so I don't even offer it anymore.

I haven't read the article, but it would make sense to me that moms who weren't that committed to breastfeeding might use a paci more often (in place of nursing) and plan to wean earlier.

[polykow]

Originally Posted by ccohenou

Can I ask why you say boo?
I think we need to keep this in perspective: we are pro-breastfeeding, not anti-pacifier, right? If pacifiers do not interfere with breastfeeding, that is a good thing.

Pacifiers CAN interfere and do interfere with breastfeeding.
While I do agree there are times that a pacifier is a good thing , in my opinion most times pacifiers for breastfeeding babies can be a bad idea.

[Kama82]

I really hate it when people claim pacifier use has no effect on breastfeeding. I totally blame the pacifier that my daughter got in the hospital for most of our breastfeeding difficulties. I had even decided before hand that I didn't want to use one but my daughter was in the special care unit and the nurse said "She can't eat or nurse are you going to deny her the only comfort she can have?" Talk about an effective guilt trip. These kind of rumors give those kinds of nurses the ammo they need to continue with their guilt trips.

Maybe in some cases it doesn't interfere with breastfeeding, but in some cases it definitely does and it has a very negative outcome for those it does if no one believes that it is true.

[polykow]

Originally Posted by Black Orchid

As someone who works with nursing mothers I can say that it DEFINITELY interferes with milk supply in the first month at least.

Stories like this get taken out of context and pacis are given too early with the belief that they will not interfere with milk supply and they will and they do.

Do not take these stories personally. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. But it is the stance of LLL and lactation support personel are trained to encourage moms to comfort baby at the breast for the first month. Jsut because you didn't do that doesn't mean you are a bad person. Exceptions exist.

Exactly my point! I too used to work as a CLC and have seen it happen a lot!

[interested]

Originally Posted by ccohenou

We find out new stuff all the time, and that is okay. Some things aren't as bad as we thought and some things are worse. I think it's a trap to get too caught up in what we are sure we already know, when new or different evidence arises.

:

[goodheartedmama]

Eh. I guess I fail the MDC good mama test. My baby will NOT nurse for comfort, under any circumstance. She will nurse for nutrition, but not for anything else. If I dare offer when she's not hungry, I'll hear it from her. I can see her being weaning early (but not like at 12 months, like 2 years), but mainly because she's just not into nursing. She wasn't into it from the day she was born. She wants to get her tummy full, then she's done. She does want her paci, though. :

She had her mind made up before she ever was introduced to a paci that she didn't like nursing for anything more than the milk itself. Perhaps the other "early" weaning babies are the same way. It's more about personality than anything, IMO (obviously not the case across the board, as I am sure there are moms who use pacis to replace feedings, but that is not how all BFing paci using moms are. I would never replace my baby's feeding with a paci).

[pumpkinhead]

I think the "pacifiers are associated with nursing difficulties" theory is an interesting on (in lieu of "pacifiers cause breastfeeding difficulties). There is a distinct difference.

I am another mother who used pacifiers for the sake of her baby's and her own sanity. I nursed my first for 13 months, weaned him and am still nursing my newly turned 3 year old. Both were sookie lovers. I've had no trouble weaning either from them though.

I think it is fair to say that pacifiers can cause breastfeeding difficulties. But so can grandparents, circumscisons, the weather, and pretty much anything else that is percieved and/or blamed in such a way. I don't mean to be flip. Those things I listed can be very valid hinderances to successful breastfeeding relationships depending on the circumstances.

Used judiciously by consientious parents, I doubt occasional pacifier use is going to cause irreparable damage to a well established breastfeeding relationship. It could happen and probably does, but I believe it is rare.

Used non-judiciously in an excessive manner and not responding to babe's obvious hunger cues will probably almost always cause harm. There are probably some cases in which it does not, but I believe it is rare.

[greeneyedmama]

I really believe that they can cause huge problems. Perhaps it is the fact that they are so mobile, unlike a breast. They can have them anywhere in any position while doing anything. Plus they stay in more easily. I am having issues right now partly because of them. They are addictive and sometimes it can start down a bad road of preferring it for comfort and then even over milk. I know some babies do fine but not my 2!! I am not judging anyone for using them though, it is tempting when you are in the car, etc.! I wish I had never seen one, lol.

[RoadWorkAhead]

Considering the fora, it speaks volumes that many of us have used pacifiers with no untoward effects. I, for one, would never breastfeed again without one - So it actually allows my kid to breastfeed, rather than hindering it.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Kierdan'sMom

Considering the fora, it speaks volumes that many of us have used pacifiers with no untoward effects. I, for one, would never breastfeed again without one - So it actually allows my kid to breastfeed, rather than hindering it.

It's easy to find just as many people who used pacifiers and they had a negative impact on their nursing relationship.

-Angela

[mamazee]

I guess what we can take from this is that on one hand, the title of the OP is indeed incorrect - sometimes pacifiers are a barrier to BF success. And on the other hand, they aren't always. Maybe a better truth would be, "Pacifiers have the potential of causing BF difficulties."

[alegna]

Originally Posted by mamazee

I guess what we can take from this is that on one hand, the title of the OP is indeed incorrect - sometimes pacifiers are a barrier to BF success. And on the other hand, they aren't always. Maybe a better truth would be, "Pacifiers have the potential of causing BF difficulties."

I agree wholeheartedly. That's exactly how I try to put it. Any artificial nipple CAN interfere with breastfeeding at any time.

-Angela

[pumpkinhead]

I prefer to say that pacifiers are associated with breastfeeding difficulties. They may cause them and they may exacerbate existing problems or they may not.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by pumpkinhead

I prefer to say that pacifiers are associated with breastfeeding difficulties. They may cause them and they may exacerbate existing problems or they may not.

Some people have said that pacifiers relieved breastfeeding difficulties, and I think that wording doesn't fit that reality. They may be associated with breastfeeding difficulties, but they sometimes help.

[pumpkinhead]

Originally Posted by mamazee

Some people have said that pacifiers relieved breastfeeding difficulties, and I think that wording doesn't fit that reality. They may be associated with breastfeeding difficulties, but they sometimes help.

Perhaps "may be associated with" would work better. For me, they definitely relieved difficulties associated with breastfeeding.

[xelakann]

Originally Posted by pumpkinhead

Perhaps "may be associated with" would work better. For me, they definitely relieved difficulties associated with breastfeeding.

Yes me too. Oversupply, Gerd, etc. without a paci I'm not sure I could have stuck it out for 15 months.

With my baby due in September it is not given that she will have a paci, but after the first 4-6 weeks if we are in the same boat as my son I will use one.