Pacifiers lower risk of SIDS, study says

Long discouraged by some, the pacifier actually lowers risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, new research has shown.

The findings reinforce recommendations made recently by the American Academy of Pediatrics that pacifiers be used at nap and bedtimes in the first year of life.

A decade ago, a successful public health campaign to get infants off their stomachs when sleeping -- and on their backs -- cut the SIDS rate in half. In 2002, 2,295 babies were diagnosed at death with SIDS. Before that, it was estimated that 5,000 babies a year were lost to SIDS.

The newly published pacifier research "is a very strong finding," said Dr. Fern R. Hauck, associate professor of family medicine at the University of Virginia Health System. "The body of evidence kept growing," added the pediatrician, who reviewed the studies in the journal Pediatrics last month.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/ny-hssids1209,0,7459701.story?coll=sfla-news-health

why people didn't want kids to use pacifiers. I mean, it is a little weird if the kid is like, 10, but I don't understand what is wrong with babies and toddlers having pacifiers. I never got that.

Before the days of dentists and braces, they were not gonna take any chances!

but I guess I can sort of see where they're coming from- people used to tell my mom that if I kept sucking my thumb I'd have buck teeth. And I did- but not because of the thumb sucking. At least that's what the dentist said.

Plus, it discourages talking.

I had to snip the end of the pacifiers at around 18 months for my kids. It makes the pacifiers not much fun to suck on anymore.

interesting. i never knew.

It makes sense.
A lot of sense in fact.
You can't quit breathing if you are sucking.
Baby has an episode of apnea, the nipple of the pacifier stimulates the sucking reflex...baby breathes again.
I see nothing wrong with them---except I do think when a child starts walking it is a good time to take them away.

The same time he gave up the bottle. We packed them all up in a bag and gave them to Santa claus (he made a special visit to our house that year) in exchange for a train set. The timing seemed right and I never bought another.

Now getting him to wipe his own butt is another story......