Why should I not let my baby “use me as a human pacifier”

[talusjumper]

@katrina2017 Then by that standard the entire back to sleep campaign should be scrapped. Put your baby to sleep in a pillow fort.

 

[katrina2017]

@talusjumper Not really. But if your claim is that we can establish causation without RCT or other techniques specifically designed for that I just think you’re plain wrong. In some cases you can establish strong correlations between two things and the hypothesis that connect them causally is so plausible that it is worth pursuing that work or communicating that result widely. But it’s exceedingly rare. I can’t quite say what the history of the back to sleep campaign was but my understanding after reading quite a bit about SIDS a few months ago (but granted I’m not an expert just a scientist who can understand experimental design and statistics) is that the main thing that was accomplished is convincing parents to not sleep with their newborns and not put things that can cause suffocation in their cribs. My hypothesis is that the overwhelming majority of deaths reported as SIDS are suffocation, even to this day. I actually suspect that the vast majority whatever remaining SIDS deaths still exist after that effort are parents misreporting suffocation cases. I also think that this SIDS has been overblown in the sense that, for many parents (including myself), it gives you the impression that your newborn can just “pop” one night without any reason. It’s an extremely stressful thought to have.

 

[londonleah]

@katrina2017 The similar articles section at the bottom included a like to this study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16651334/ which is a bit older than the one you linked, but did conclude that pacifiers reduce risk of SIDS.

I first read about it in precious little sleep, and admittedly was a bit lazy when looking for a source. I'm guessing that the 2005 study there or another similar one is where the adage came from.

 

[katrina2017]

@londonleah Citing the article you link:

*** CONCLUSIONS. It seems appropriate to stop discouraging the use of pacifiers. Whether it is appropriate to recommend pacifier use in infants is open to debate.***

Basically the only reasonable conclusion is “we don’t know”

 

[christian99]

@yoshinat0r Mine comfort nurses a lot and I love it. It’s so precious. But I’ve found that once he’s in a deep enough sleep, he doesn’t notice anymore. Sometimes he’ll really dramatically unlatch with a POP and fling himself on his back totally knocked out, or sometimes I’m able to break the suction myself and he doesn’t notice. Sometimes he still makes suckles in the air.

I will cast a vote for thumb sucking, though. Several times recently he’s unlatched from my nipple and stuck his thumb in his mouth. I’m only slightly devastated that he doesn’t need my boob for comfort. But his thumb sucking has gotten us significantly longer stretches of sleep too.

 

[jesusonly42]

@christian99 Yes! Mine does the dramatic unlatch/head fling as well, while seemingly completely asleep

 

[iscah]

@yoshinat0r It just depends on your comfort level. Personally I found it uncomfortable/painful after a few minutes. I've been nursing to sleep for 18m now. I let her drift off to sleep and when she's just comfort nursing and fast asleep I gently unlatch her and we snuggle for a few minutes until I transfer her to her bed. She doesn't need it other than thay and was finished with her pacifier at 6m.

 

[hopefulinthebayarea]

@yoshinat0r That‘s ridiculous. Pacifiers are literally just nipple dupes. Your breast is the one true pacifier for your Baby.

 

[somer_222]

@hopefulinthebayarea my pacifier to my nipples

 

[newsgurl]

@yoshinat0r I actually read that comfort nursing presumably reduces the risk for SIDS, so I wouldn’t consider it a bad thing. I let my 8 week old do it and my 3 year old also did it when she was a baby and naturally grew out of it.

Also, I don’t know why you find pacifiers better than the thumb. From my perspective is actually the opposite… I always preferred my 3yo to suck on her thumb, so we never had pacifiers and she ended up never taking to it.

Now with my baby I will not be giving her the pacifier either, if she wants to suck on her thumb, that’s fine by me! I believe it’s harder to get rid of the pacifier as the older they get, the more they use their hands and the pacifier can just be there in their mouth.

I have seen so many kids riding bikes with a pacifier in their mouth!!! Or do crafts… with the pacifier in their mouths!! I personally hate that. And the older they get the ickier I find it.

 

[casazzamj]

@newsgurl It’s generally accepted that thumb sucking is a worse option than pacifiers. It’s a harder habit to break so they tend to do it for longer. You can take a pacifier away but you can’t take a thumb away

 

[breakbeatkid]

@casazzamj Well you certainly shouldn’t take it away

 

[godboy9856]

@breakbeatkid After a certain age excessive sucking causes tooth alignment issues.

 

[ajbarton97]

@godboy9856 My little sister had to get braces because she sucked her thumb.

 

[newsgurl]

@casazzamj I’ve seen children that look 3-4 years old with pacifiers doing normal activities throughout the day. I’ve never seen a child suck their thumb while riding their scooter, carrying their school bags or playing in the playground… because their hands are busy.

You might be able to remove the pacifier as opposed to a thumb, but the time a child will spend on a pacifier is far longer that he will sucking his thumb.

 

[ibeenthere2]

@newsgurl I sucked my thumb till I was in grade school. It's not unheard of

 

[tehnatural]

@newsgurl I mean, you just have to limit the time the kid has the pacifier which is easy when it’s something that can be removed. My son only used pacifiers for sleep until around 2 when we took it away. He knew it stayed in his room and would take it out on his own and leave it there. Meanwhile I sucked my thumb until I was 6 because I struggled so much to break the habit.

 

[iscah]

@newsgurl Not necessarily. My little one took a pacifier at birth. Was done with it by 6m. She just didn't want it anymore and hasn't replaced it with anything either.

 

[casazzamj]

@newsgurl I’m a teacher and I can assure you I’ve seen children sucking their thumbs in the playground.

 

[musician92]

@newsgurl It entirely depends on the child. A lot of kids switch from thumb sucking to nail biting too. They may not have broken the habit but instead transferred it to another type of self soothing that adults find more socially acceptable.