Elisheva reminded us that

> On the contrary they said that pacifiers *were* related to early weaning but that it
> appeared to be a *correlation* not a *cause.*
>
> Evidence based doesnt' mean only when the evidence matches our intuition,
> after all
>
We know that breastfeeding is best, and can learn to accept the finer
points... Correlations lead to interesting possibilities, too. For
instance, perhaps mothers who would not normally have been able to cope
with a frequent nurser were able to breastfeed  longer because they felt
the pacifier gave them a break. We all know that there are babies who
are fussier than others, or who refuse the breast. Are these the ones
who were given pacifiers? Did they get breastfed a bit more often than
those whose mothers thought that it wasn't good to indulge a sucking
need, but then end up giving up because "dry" sucking wasn't enough? Is
there an approach to mothering that promotes sustained breastfeeding (of
course there is!) and at the same time discourages the use of pacifiers
(cribs, exersaucers...)? Were the mothers who did not use pacifiers
given more and/or better information about breastfeeding? Were they
better able to overcome breastfeeding problems that had nothing to do
with pacifier use as a result of prenatal education that included
warning against pacifiers? Were pacifiers part of the same kind of
hospital policy as mother-baby separation? Perhaps the mothers in the
study did not breastfeed as long as some other mothers, but "early"
weaning is a relative term, and does not imply that an individual mother
did not breastfeed longer than she had planned or would have in other
circumstances. When breastfeeding rates go up, it means that a lot of
people are breastfeeding who otherwise wouldn't; aren't you glad those
who wouldn't have breastfed in the 1960s are breastfeeding now? Does the
fact that they use a pacifier make you less happy they are
breastfeeding?
So many questions; so many possibilities. In a way, this is more
interesting than if they had just concluded that pacifier use caused
early weaning. I don't know how studies of breastfeeding relationships
can make a lot of cause - effect conclusions anyway. I certainly have no
idea what causes most behaviours in my children...
Jo-Anne

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