The majority of babies today use the pacifier as an alternative method to breastfeeding and it is denominated as non-nutritive suction, although there are many questions regarding the benefits or usefulness of this element in children, it seems impossible that it affects in any way the babies.
The pacifier is used to soothe the child's crying, so that he can sleep peacefully, it is also used as a pain reliever or for some discomfort, in addition to having a decrease in the risk of sudden death, but this product, when misused, can reach to be harmful in many factors.
According to studies, sucking a pacifier or bottle constantly can represent a risk in the development of the child's speech, only if you depend on it constantly.
The school of public health of the University of Washington in the USA, affirms that the pacifier causes speech disorders in children when its use is prolonged for a long time.
These investigations show that children with manias such as thumb sucking, having a pacifier, show difficulty in pronouncing some words and sounds.
When a child uses the pacifier for a long time does not exercise the muscles of the oral cavity properly, limiting the development of the musculature that influences the pronunciation and the emission of words, affecting phonetically, this because, by keeping the mouth busy , they do not try to reproduce the sounds they hear.
Experts recommend that children avoid the habit of sucking the pacifier and if it is used not continuously but only up to 9 months for the optimal development of the muscles of the tongue, face and mouth.
The use of the pacifier sporadically helps to relax the baby, reduces anxiety and gives ease to calm down, the unfavorable of this is that the baby to feel more calm, is acquiring an emotional dependence, making it indispensable for him, even in the cases of parents who give it to them when they sleep, they are generating dependency habits, often being this element the easiest way to have the child calm, that is why it is better to look for different methods to reassure them, without resorting to the pacifier as the first option.
It is also not advisable to give the pacifier in the first months of life since the suction of the pacifier is different from the suction of the breast, making it difficult to learn to take a breast and grasp the nipple, so when satisfying the need for sucking with the pacifier, it will reduce the emptying of the mother's breast having a negative effect on her diet, since she will not take the milk she needs, will not gain weight and will reduce the milk production of the mother, resulting in early weaning. This is why the pacifier should be relegated according to the AEP breastfeeding committee.
