When I was 3 years old, I could no longer have a pacifier, because my parents told me that
it was neither good for my health, nor for my teeth. And now, you know some 25 years later,
I ask myself. Were they actually bull****ing me? Or are pacifiers really bad for babies and
little children? Yes. So in in this video, we are first going to discuss if pacifiers are
really bad for baby’s health and for their teeth. Then, we are going to discuss if it's
true that pacifiers can cause breastfeeding problems. Yes. And finally, we are also gonna
discuss the benefits of pacifiers and when you can introduce one. This is Nathalie a pregnancy
and birth consultant and TCM therapist and that’s Mathias a researcher and science geek and we help
expecting mommies and their babies naturally and science based. Yes. So, let’s talk about pacifiers or
dummies as we say here in the UK, right? Yes!
We are not gonna lie to you! Our son had
a pacifier until he was three years of age. After three years, we told him that the Easter
bunny proposed a deal to take his dummy in exchange for a chocolate bunny. He was
surprisingly open to the idea and willingly gave us his pacifier. And believe it or not,
but he has never ever asked for his dummy ever again. Exactly. Thanks god for that. Although sometimes,
we wished he would still have a dummy because it really comes with so many benefits. Most importantly,
his dummy helped him to calm down when he was fussy. Or it helped him fall asleep. And it was much
easier to take him on flights. As soon as he was sucking on his dummy, he was happy. Exactly. And
believe it or not: there is also scientific evidence that a pacifier can help reduce the risk of the sudden
infant death syndrome, both during night and also during nap time, right? And we'll have more to say
about that in just a second. But basically, yes, pacifiers have lots of benefits, right? Exactly.
Nevertheless, the reputation that pacifiers have is not the best, right? In particular, you can often read
that dummies have a negative effect on the health of babies and little children, as well as their teeth.
So, is that true? Well, there are studies that do
conclude that such problems exist. However, those studies are quite old. But more recent studies on
the same matter have not confirmed those negative effects, with one exception. It does indeed seem
that babies who use a pacifier have a higher risk of developing a middle ear infection. Yes. Though
when it comes to that, it is good to know that – in general – the risk of middle ear infections is
highest from 6 to 15 months of age. So, as long as they are younger than 6 months, the risk seems
to be low enough to be acceptable, even when they use a pacifier. Exactly. And that’s great, right,
because that period from birth to 6 months of age is exactly the time when the risk of the sudden
infant death syndrome is highest. But we now know that that risk can potentially be reduced with
the help of a pacifier. And because of that, the American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends
introducing a dummy during the first 6 months of baby’s life in order to lower the risk of the sudden
infant death syndrome. Exactly. And then to wean the baby from the pacifier at 6 months. Yeah, good
luck with that. Exactly. But that’s what they recommend, again because of the higher
risk of developing a middle ear infection from 6 months of baby’s life. Yes. That is the theory,
ladies and gentlemen! In reality, we don’t know a single case in our community when parents
introduced a dummy early and then took it away at 6 months. Or do we? No, not at all. See? Anyways,
we are not here to tell you what to do. We just want to give you the information needed to make
informed decisions, right. So, back to baby’s health. So, yes, pacifiers do seem to increase
the risk of middle ear infections from 6 months of age. However, other than that, pacifiers do not
really seem to have any negative effect on baby’s health. So, what about dental problems then? Well
first of all, one has to note that the studies which report negative effects of dummies on teeth mostly come
from a time when conventional dummies were used. Yes exactly. For example, a meta study from 2016
found that pacifiers were associated with a higher risk of developing certain forms of malocclusion which
means that the teeth are not aligned in a way that the upper and lower teeth fit together, right? Exactly.
That seems to have changed however, once those orthodontic pacifiers were introduced. Yes. And so,
newer studies like a review study from 2018, did not find that those pacifiers have any negative
effects on certain forms of malocclusion, right? And this was also confirmed by other studies which do not
find that malocclusion in children seems to be related to the use of orthodontic pacifiers at
all. Yes. There could be one exception though. And that’s when dummies are being used extensively. In
fact, as it stands right now, we cannot rule out that your child won’t suffer from dental problems
if your child uses a dummy for like 5 years or so or is sucking on that thing 24 hours a day.
Exactly. The problem is that at the moment, we cannot really say what “extensive use” IS exactly,
like how many years, or how many hours a day, because there is just not enough research at
this point. We can only say that first of all, using a conventional dummy may indeed do more harm
than good. So, please go for those orthodontic pacifiers, right? And second, scientists cannot rule
out that there could be a negative effects on a child’s teeth in case of a prolonged use of the
pacifier whatever that means. Yes. But maybe the following information helps: the parents that we
regularly stay in touch with because of our work, mostly get rid of baby’s dummy between one and a
half and three years of age. Yes exactly. And we really couldn’t say that kids who had their
dummy for up to three years have any particular dental issues, right? But I guess, there can always be
exceptions. Exactly. Now, the other thing that is often being reported is that apparently the use
of a pacifier somehow interferes with a mother’s breastfeeding efforts. Some say that if
your baby has a dummy, your baby is less likely to suck on your breast. Others say that babies
who use a dummy are more likely to be weaned from the breast too early. So, what about that? Well,
there is a meta study from 2022 on this matter. And the scientists of that study did not find
that using a pacifier has any effect on whether or not a mother’s attempts to breastfeed her baby
are gonna be a success or not, right? And they could also not find that babies with pacifiers are
breastfed for a shorter period of time compared to other babies. And other studies come to the same
conclusion, right? Exactly. And because of that, based on those studies, there does not seem to be any reason
not to introduce a dummy from day one, i.e. right after birth. Still, many health organizations,
like for example, the American Association of Pediatrics still recommend delaying the
introduction of a dummy until breastfeeding has been established. Exactly. So they say: Wait 3 to
4 weeks until breastfeeding has been established. Then you are good to introduce a dummy. In fact,
as we have already heard, they actually do recommend introducing a dummy. Just not right
after birth, right? Exactly. But the bottom line here is that as it stands right now, the only real risk
of pacifiers seems to be an increased risk of a middle ear infection and possibly dental issues
in case of a prolonged use. That’s all there is to say really. Yes. And earlier we mentioned that the
use of pacifiers supposedly causes moms to stop breastfeeding at an earlier date compared to women
whose babies do not use a dummy. We now know that's not the case, but you may ask yourself: how long
am I supposed to breastfeed my baby? And how long do women breastfeed their baby on average. The
answer will surprise you. And if you want to hear it and also, if you want to know why it’s important
that you don’t stop breastfeeding during the first 10 days of your baby’s life, watch the video that
is supposed to pop up now! Right. If you have found this video helpful, we would be super
grateful if you could leave us a like below this video! Yes. And for more useful tips and tools
on pregnancy- and baby-related topics, make sure to subscribe to our channel and to hit the bell!