The heated controversy surrounding the pacifier has been going on for decades. There are ardent supporters and opponents of this wonderful accessory. In the meantime, fierce battles are being waged, in every family, parents make a decision: whether or not to give a pacifier and a pacifier to the baby.
The strongest arguments against
Many pediatricians, dentists and child psychologists today oppose the use of a pacifier for good reason.
The dummy contributes to the development of a malocclusion in the child. This is especially true if the nipple is in the baby's mouth all the time while he is not eating. The fact is that at birth, the lower jaw of a newborn is much smaller than the upper one, and the work of all the chewing muscles is simply necessary to align it.
This condition is satisfied when breastfeeding, but when sucking a bottle and a pacifier, only part of the muscles is involved, which can lead to a violation of the dental health of the oral cavity. Also, when the teeth have already erupted, the dummy helps to push the front teeth forward, and this is extremely unaesthetic.
Breastfeeding specialists often draw the attention of moms to the so-called nipple tangle mechanism. It lies in the fact that it is easier for a baby to suck on a nipple than on a breast, as a result, mothers may face the baby's refusal from the breast and other manifestations of dissatisfaction.
When a child is irritated or scared, he needs his mother's affection and attention. It happens that at this moment he is offered a dummy instead of warm mother's hands, and the baby is deceived in his expectations. If this situation becomes typical, it can disrupt the psychological contact between the baby and the mother.
When does the dummy come in handy?
Sometimes there are situations where the use of a pacifier may be justified. That is why it is still one of the used accessories in the arsenal of moms.
For a start, it is worth noting that if for some reason the child is breastfed, then he does not have time to fully satisfy the sucking reflex during bottle feeding, therefore it is simply necessary to give him a pacifier after eating. After all, the sucking reflex in babies, in addition to the way of saturation, also performs the function of calming.
If the mother cannot attach the baby to her breast right now or she is simply not there, then it also makes sense to give the baby a pacifier so that he does not get nervous in vain while waiting.
Today there are special nipples with a beveled upper edge, which are recommended by dentists for the formation of the lower jaw in case of its underdevelopment.
Sucking helps to reduce pain during colic and calms the baby, if he is very excited, the use of a nipple in this case can also be justified.
When deciding to use a pacifier, you should pay attention that it should not become the most important element of the child's life, but be just a way to calm or distract the baby from time to time.
