WHEN TO GIVE A BABY A PACIFIER

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WHEN TO GIVE A BABY A PACIFIER

Information and advice on when to give the soother to the newborn.

All parents will have wondered what is the right time to give the pacifier: immediately after birth or better to wait? A question that certainly generates some confusion. Now let's see what science says and how to behave with the pacifier in case of breast or bottle feeding.

NON-NUTRITIVE SUCKING

Non-nutritive sucking is an infant skill critical to infant feeding and self-regulation . It already begins long before birth: it has already been observed from the 15th week of gestation . Precisely for this reason, non-nutritive sucking in the newborn is an innate reflex . It has various benefits for the newborn and acts positively on the child's health in the first months of life: it is therefore important to support it correctly even after birth.

WHEN TO GIVE A PACIFIER TO A NEWBORN IF SHE IS BREASTFEEDING?

The most suitable tool to support non-nutritive sucking is certainly the pacifier . Now let's see what science says about pacifier use and breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the main American pediatric body also recognized at an international level, reiterates the importance of using the pacifier even in the case of breastfeeding due to its protective effect against SIDS and recommends the introduction of the pacifier for breastfeeding well underway(1). The American Academy also indicates precisely which factors are useful for establishing when breastfeeding is well underway: sufficient milk production, correct, comfortable and effective attachment of the baby to the breast and adequate weight gain of the newborn. T he time it takes for this to happen is variable and can be different from child to child and from dyad to dyad.

WHEN TO GIVE THE SOOTHER TO THE NEWBORN IN CASE OF BOTTLE FEEDING?

Also in this case to have reliable information we appeal to science. The American Academy of Pediatrics also states that, in the case of bottle-fed children, it is possible to start using the pacifier right away.

WHEN TO GIVE A SOOTHER TO A PRETERM BABY?

However, the situation is different in the case of premature birth. In preterm infants, non-nutritive suckling training via pacifier is used as a therapeutic target to improve clinical parameters such as growth, weight gain, maturation, wakefulness control and gastric motility. Furthermore, in the hospital, it is also used to reduce the sensation of pain whenever it is necessary to activate painful procedures, such as stings. The use of special pacifiers, extra light and very small to adapt to the face of the little ones , is therefore recommended right from the start , even during hospitalization.

WHICH PACIFIER TO CHOOSE FOR THE FIRST MONTHS?

It being understood that the upward shape of the pacifier is essential in order to guarantee a correct stimulus to non-nutritive sucking, the first pacifier of the newborn will certainly be small in size , suitable for the newborn's face, light, soft and with a ventilated shield for respect the delicate skin of the little one . Once the right pacifier has been chosen and the necessary times have been respected, it is possible to start offering the pacifier to the child. Remember that at first the child may find it difficult to accept the pacifier and it may be necessary to repeat the operation several times before the child accepts it willingly: if this happens do not worry, it is completely normal. A piece of advice to help the newborn accept the sootheris to offer it, for the first few times, when the little one is calm, avoiding offering it when he is nervous or crying.