When you look at the studies about pacifiers -- the one in the Lancet &
rewritten for Pediatrics -- um, I think early 1995, but don't remember the
exact reference, the study showed that babies who used pacifiers, on the
whole, bf a shorter period of time than babies who didn't use pacifiers --
the question being, was pacifier use a marker for other problems r/t bf, or
was it the problem in and of itself.  (That was sort of the gist of it).  My
concern with pacifiers is not the occasional use -- driving down the
Eisenhower expressway at rush hour with a screaming baby -- perhaps a
pacifier might be appropriate at that time -- but with the fact that parents
get addicted to it, and cause same addiction in babies.  You've all seen the
cute little strings that clip the paci's to babies clothes so it can't be
lost.  And how many times have we seen a perfectly content baby have a paci
shoved in his mouth because it has fallen out?  It is used inappropriately,
and in place of loving & cuddling and especially in place of bf because it
isn't "time" to bf yet.  In the early days, if sucking needs are taken up by
the paci, many moms miss the subtle feeding cues and don't put the baby to br
because he is "happily" sucking on said paci.  Thus, what might start out to
be reasonable use in a baby quickly turns into addictive use to PREVENT the
baby from crying, rather than putting the baby to br when it is needed, or to
soothe baby when it isn't reasonable to put baby to br (mom indisposed for
the next 10 minutes) or on the Eisenhower.  Parents panic when paci is not
available, or when baby will only take ONE type of paci and it's lost or
grotty.  That's what makes the R--s Vanilla scented pacis so dangerous --
they are addictive and the only place one can get them is through the
laboratory in Columbus, OH ($10 for 5 of 'em).

So, I don't think it is the shape of the paci - I don't think it makes a bean
of difference  for the most part.  I think it is the whole issue of the use
of pacifiers in and of itself.

We could start a 12 Step program:  "Hello, my name is Jan, and I'm a
paciholic."

Jan B.  Frustrated with pacifer use in Wheaton, IL