Good points, Barbara, and what a timely reminder that you are talking about *abnormal* babies, i.e. those who cannot BF, not the typical, normal baby.
   One of the design problems with dummies (pacifiers) which irks me is the fact that every one I've seen has a plastic flange which serves to flatten the lips against it.  Indeed one brand of dummy actually states on its packaging used in South Africa, that flattening the lips (i.e. instead of flanging them) is desirable and just like Nature!  In other words, this negative feature is promoted as a "benefit".  I realise that the plastic flanges, whether disk-shaped or other shaped, are needed to stop the baby from swallowing or choking on the dummy.  In other words, safety issues. There have to be other, better ways of stopping the child from choking on the object, *and* giving the lips something wider to work on.  What Barbara says, suggests some ideas for better designs.
    Unfortunately, in this country (Australia) dummy use is very common.  It is always a pleasant surprise when I see a mother who *isn't* using a dummy for her normal baby.  We even have this in our (colloquial) language: an adult is said to "spit the dummy" if s/he gets upset or reacts angrily to something.
     Just some musings ....
                     Virginia
                   In *sunny* Brisbane (despite 
                   the weather forecast)
     

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