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CNN Live At Daybreak
Doctor Discusses Claim That Pacifiers Impede Breast-Feeding
Aired July 18, 2001 - 08:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: When faced with a cranky baby, many parents go ahead and reach for that pacifier, but there is a dispute about whether that's the best course of action -- medical correspondent Rea Blakey on the great pacifier debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-month old Reginald (ph) sometimes has trouble nursing. His mom, Melika Williams (ph), says it can take him five minutes to latch on and breast-feed. She blames the pacifier.
MELIKA WILLIAMS (ph): It's sort of an obstacle in terms of me trying to nurse him.
BLAKEY: The World Health Organization agrees. It recommends against using pacifiers, saying they interfere with breast-feeding.
DR. MARK WEISSMAN, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Breast- feeding comes first, and we really want to reinforce and support that every way we can.
BLAKEY: But a study in "The Journal of the American Medical Association" concludes pacifier use in infants does not reduce breast- feeding.
DR. DAVID HORWITZ, NYU MEDICAL CENTER: Although it may be a marker -- in other words, mothers are giving up breast-feeding may use pacifiers more -- it really does not appear to be the cause of the termination of breast-feeding.
BLAKEY: If you're giving baby a pacifier in hopes of calming crankiness, the study shows you may be fooling yourself.
HORWITZ: Pacifiers also don't help babies stop crying and fussing very much, if at all. In fact, they really serve no particular benefit.
BLAKEY: How can you calm a fussy baby? Try feeding your baby. Try carrying or rocking it with a gentle repetitive motion. Hum, or play soft, soothing music. Give baby a warm bath, massaging legs, arms and back.
If you've tried all of that and the pacifier is the only relief in sight at 3:00 a.m., pediatricians say chances are it won't be harmful in the long run.
WEISSMAN: For most babies, using a pacifier on an occasional basis isn't going to get in the way of successful feeding.
BLAKEY: Some pediatricians say if you do periodically give a baby a pacifier, you should discontinue use by the sixth month. Experts say beyond that, babies can become dependent, and since pacifiers immobilize the tongue, they can interfere with speech development.
(on camera): The American Academy of Pediatrics' official position is pacifiers don't cause medical or psychological problems as long as they're only used between feedings.
Rea Blakey, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: So what is best for your baby? This morning, we're going to turn to Dr. Marvin Eiger. He is a pediatrician and has co-authored "The Complete Book of Breast-Feeding" with Sally Wendkos Olds.
Good morning, doctor.
DR. MARVIN EIGER, PEDIATRICIAN: Good morning, Carol.
LIN: Maybe we can get to the bottom line for these poor parents out there: Should they use pacifiers or not?
EIGER: Well, it's important to realize that there's a fundamental difference between suckling on a breast and sucking on a rubber nipple or pacifier. The breast-fed baby actually cradles his elongated mother's nipple on his tongue, and he doesn't move his tongue. The bottle-fed baby actually uses his tongue in a back-and- forth motion, causing what's called a tongue thrust. And this can be very confusing if a young baby, in the first six to eight weeks, trying to learn how to breast-feed -- it can impede the development of a successful breast milk supply.
LIN: So are there some absolute guidelines, then? If you start breast-feeding your baby, you should not introduce a pacifier or a bottle to them within the first two months?
EIGER: The first six to eight weeks, because many babies get what's called nipple confusion if you introduce a pacifier or a bottle before that time.
LIN: So it's all right to introduce the bottle at some point, then, in the feeding process. It doesn't have to be all or nothing throughout the entire feeding term.
EIGER: We like to wait until the milk supply develops to a very dependable level, and that usually takes six to eight weeks of very frequent breast-feeding, emptying and filling the breast, conditioning the baby to learn how to extract the milk, to learn how to latch onto the breast correctly -- and using a rubber nipple, or a pacifier, can work against this process.
LIN: What are some of the reasons why women choose not to breast-feed?
EIGER: Some women feel that it's too time consuming. It certainly is, in the first six to eight weeks, because to develop a dependable milk supply, babies must be breast-fed maybe eight to 12 times every 24 hours.
So some women feel it's inconvenient. Some feel that it's not aesthetic. But most women are feeling that breast-feeding is the natural way to do it and is the way to develop a very healthy baby.
LIN: But Dr. Eiger, don't you avoid this whole debate about whether pacifiers are good for your baby or when should I start him on a bottle or what not if you start him on a bottle from the very beginning?
EIGER: It's very difficult to breast-feed successfully if you start them on a bottle at the beginning.
LIN: I know. I guess my question is skip breast-feeding altogether, start with the bottle, keep him on a bottle, and that way you avoid this whole debate about whether to introduce pacifiers or not, or whether bottle-feeding is going to disrupt breast-feeding.
EIGER: Yes, but the pacifier is used for nonnutritive suckling. The way to comfort a baby maybe to hold the baby, to walk with the baby, to sing to the baby, to rock the baby, and pacifiers really, I feel, are not the way to comfort a baby.
LIN: It sounds like you're saying that you're a proponent of breast-feeding. You think that women should breast-feed.
EIGER: I certainly am.
LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Dr. Eiger, for joining us.
Hopefully, that's a little clearer now for everybody.
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