Hello, my name is Andi Gingerich, and I am a Junior nursing student at the
University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  I have a question pertaining to
the use of pacifiers and successful breastfeeding.  I am aware that
pacifiers
violate one of the Baby Friendly 10 steps, and I also have scanned the
archives
regarding this topic.

According to the study by Righard and Alade (1997), pacifiers should be
avoided in order to promote successful breastfeeding.  They found that
infants who suck a pacifier two hours or more thought the day are less
likely to still be breastfeeding at the age of four months.  Even those
mother-infant paris that were discharged with incorrect sucking technique
were still Breastfeeding at four months if not using pacifier.

Hill, P., Humenick, S., Brennan, M., and Woolley, D. (1997) found that
breastfeeding exclusively during the first few
weeks postpartum contributed to a higher success rate than those who let the
infant suck on something other than the breast, like the pacifier or bottle.

Victoria, C., Behague, D., Barros, F., Olinto, M., and Wiederpass, E.
(1997) found that pacifier users not only quit breastfeeding
earlier than non-pacifier users, but when they were breastfeeding they had
fewer daily breastfeeding's.  It was also found that pacifiers had less
effect on infants whose mothers were more confident about nursing.
It was also noted that in order to help breastfeeding succeed,
there needs to be a support out there to help mothers deal with the
anxieties and challenges of breastfeeding as well as cutting down on
pacifier use.

After reading all this info, I am curious as to whether anyone out there had
found pacifier use a problem with successful long term breastfeeding?  Also,
do your hospitals hand out pacifiers or ask parents preference to having one
or not?  And last but not least, do they have numbers or people to call to
get help with any problems they may be facing.  I really appreciate your
taking the time to read this and I encourage anyone to pass their thoughts
on to me.  Thanks so much!

References:

 Hill, P., Humenick, S., Brennan, M., and Woolley, D. (1997).  Does early
supplementation affect long-term breastfeeding?  Clinical Pediatrics, (36)6
pp. 345-350.

 Righard, L., and Alade, M., (1997).  Breastfeeding and the use of
pacifiers.  Birth, (24)2, pp. 116-120.

 Victoria, C., Behague, D., Barros, F., Olinto, M., and Wiederpass, E.
(1997).  Pacifier use and short breastfeeding duration:  cause, consequence,
or coincidence?  Pediatrics (99)3 pp. 445-453.