BABY
Why Do Babies Like Pacifiers & Sucking?
Sucking lowers an infant's heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels!
Written by
Dr. Harvey Karp
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BABY
Written by
Dr. Harvey Karp
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Babies like sucking on pacifiers because it reminds them of being in the womb. In fact, sucking is one of 5 womb sensations (known as the 5 S's) capable of triggering a baby's innate calming reflex.
Sucking's power to calm babies is quite extraordinary: It lowers the heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels; it even reduces crying after shots and blood tests. It's amazing how much pleasure a simple pacifier can bring your little one throughout the day!
A baby's survival depends on sucking. This skill is so important that babies start practicing long before birth! In utero, it's easy for babies to suck their fingers because the womb's soft walls deflect their hands toward their mouth. After birth, newborns don't suck their fingers much because they have poor muscle coordination. They may attempt to suck but they're more likely to whack their hand their nose than find the mouth. That's why babies are so relieved when we pop a pacifier, breast or bottle right into place.
Doctors call infant eating nutritive sucking.
Nutritive sucking is when a baby is sucking to gain nutrients from milk.
New babies grow so fast they need a milky meal 8 to 12 times a day. Some people say they eat like “little pigs,” but piglets can’t hold a candle to our babies! Every day our little ones “snort down” three ounces of milk for every pound of their body weight. That’s like you guzzling five gallons of whole milk every day, seven days a week!
While nutritive sucking is when a baby gains milk for sustenance, non nutritive sucking is when a baby is sucking but are so full that they are just doing it for comfort.
When babies suck on a pacifier, toy or thumb, it's called non-nutritive sucking (because it yields no nutrition). Like baby meditation, non-nutritive sucking helps babies stay calm amid the chaos of the world around them. But as hunger builds, your baby will eventually spit the pacifier out, as if to complain, “Hey, I ordered milk—not rubber!”
After some great nutritive sucking—that is, a good feeding—she’ll happily accept the binky again.
Some parents never offer their baby a pacifier because they worry it's habit forming. Fortunately, it's impossible for babies to suck too much. It isn't candy or an addiction; it's an integral part of the 4th trimester and one of your baby's first steps toward self-reliance.
As a special bonus, scientists have discovered that sucking a paci at bedtime and naptime can lower your baby’s risk of SIDS...even if she spits it out after falling asleep. (Although, doctors have yet to figure out how this bit of sucking works such wonders.)
Giving your baby a pacifier at bedtime may help reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation during sleep. While the exact science of “why?” remains a mystery, you can rest a little easier knowing your infant is sleeping safely.
Bottle-fed babies can sleep with a pacifier right at birth. Breastfed babies can start as soon as nursing is going well.
Don't be surprised if the binky becomes your child's best friend. For many babies, sucking is the most calming of the 5 S's!
Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.
