As parents, one of your pivotal jobs is to ensure your baby has a safe infant sleeping environment. One safety concern for new or expecting parents is letting their newborns sleep with a dummy. So, can a newborn sleep with a dummy?
In short, yes, a newborn can sleep with a pacifier! Babies can sleep with a pacifier when they have been introduced to it well, and it is a well-known method to help your baby calm down and fall asleep, especially from birth to six months old.
So, the decision to let your baby sleep with a pacifier is completely up to you, but there are different benefits and drawbacks that can help you make your decision.
Key points
- Newborns can sleep with a dummy.
- In the past, it was recommended to wait three to four weeks to introduce them to a dummy when breastfeeding.
- Recent studies show that dummy use does not interfere with breastfeeding.
Content in this article
- Why Do Babies Use A Dummy?
- What Are The Benefits Of A Baby Sleeping With A Dummy?
- Are There Any Risks Of A Baby Sleeping With A Dummy?
- When Can Your Baby Start Using A Dummy?
- When Should You Avoid Letting A Baby Sleep With A Dummy?
- How Can You Safely Introduce Your Baby To A Dummy?
- How To Teach A Baby To Use Their Dummy Independently At Night?
Why Do Babies Use A Dummy?
Babies use a dummy for comfort and to help them improve their sucking reflex. Newborns have a powerful sucking reflex because of consistent breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, but this sucking skill can take longer for some newborns to develop.
Using a pacifier can help their sucking muscles develop faster so they can nurse better. Pacifiers are also known to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths and can calm them down if they are feeling irritable.
When your baby is feeding, this does more than provide them with nourishment – it also helps them feel comfortable and safe, almost as if they were lying on mom’s chest because a dummy simulates the same soothing feeling that babies experience while feeding. Parents often give their newborns pacifiers as a soothing technique during non-feeding times to help soothe them without overfeeding them.
What Are The Benefits Of A Baby Sleeping With A Dummy?
Pacifiers have numerous benefits for babies when it comes to sleeping, like the fact that experts suggest that using a pacifier for newborns while sleeping can significantly reduce the chances of sudden infant death syndrome. Or that when your baby is sucking on a pacifier, it forces its tongue to the front of its mouth, opening their airways and improving their breathing.
Here are some of the benefits your baby gets when they sleep with a dummy:
- Babies may feel calmer when irritable or restless if offered a pacifier to soothe them.
- Comfort and security are offered through the dummy’s ability to mimic breastfeeding through sucking.
- There is a reduced risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) as dummies help to improve breathing by forcing your baby’s tongue forward and keeping the airways open.
- Sucking a pacifier helps your baby remain in a subtle state of alertness while sleeping.
- Teething pains are soothed through the sucking motion while simultaneously teaching babies how to chew.
- Preterm infants generally spend less time in the hospital when given a dummy.
Are There Any Risks Of A Baby Sleeping With A Dummy?
While pacifiers are great tools for keeping our babies comfortable and getting them to sleep, they pose risks such as potential dental issues or causing oral yeast and middle ear infections.
Infections
Any infection can cause discomfort in our little ones, affecting their ability to sleep well or even their feeding schedule. When the pacifier is not kept clean while the baby uses it, it increases the risk of any of the above infections. This could be if the dummy falls on the ground or allows other kids to use the same pacifier.
Dental Issues
When a baby uses a pacifier after the primary teeth have erupted and for too long, there is a chance that it can also cause a crossbite. This is because they have a crossbite when their upper and lower teeth do not align properly.
Although this problem may correct itself as your child ages and stops using a pacifier, some children require orthodontic care.
When Can Your Baby Start Using A Dummy?
Here comes the good part! Choosing when to let your baby start using a pacifier is entirely up to you! In Australia, it’s suggested to introduce your baby to a dummy between three and four weeks old unless they are bottle-fed from birth.
Health authorities have not come to a consensus for when babies can start using pacifiers. The World Health Organization doesn’t endorse dummy use, but they are recommended for newborns by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Some experts believe that introducing a newborn to a pacifier too early might lead to nipple confusion and that babies may experience difficulty when offered both the breast and a bottle or pacifier nipple. Current studies show, however, that most infants do not experience nipple confusion, and it is beneficial to offer a pacifier.
Bottle-fed babies can use a pacifier that resembles the bottle you are using. This can be done at any age, as the only difference between the bottle and pacifier is that the one has milk. However, using a pacifier with a preterm baby generally has excellent benefits.
Many premature babies have difficulty feeding because their muscles have not yet developed properly, but giving them a pacifier to suck on can play a part in helping strengthen and develop those muscles, which in the long run will help them feed.
When Should You Avoid Letting A Baby Sleep With A Dummy?
While dummies are generally considered beneficial for babies, there are some instances in which you should avoid letting babies sleep with a dummy in their mouth.
The first of these instances is when your baby is having trouble latching on during breastfeeding, as using a dummy could lead to nipple confusion. The same goes for babies who are struggling to put on weight, as they’ll need to be encouraged to nurse as often as possible rather than use a dummy.
On a similar note, it’s also advised that you stop using a dummy if you’re finding it is reducing the number of feeds they’re asking for throughout the day. As a general rule, newborn babies need to be fed 8-12 times per day, so if you feel using a dummy is causing a reduction in feeds, stop using one.
You should also avoid giving a dummy to your baby if they are suffering from recurrent ear infections, as the sucking motion can affect the middle of the ear and irritate the infection further.
Finally, if mother or baby is suffering from thrush, you’ll need to stop giving your baby a dummy, as dummies are believed to create an imbalance of candida albicans bacteria in our bodies. This is especially true in the early weeks following birth.
How Can You Safely Introduce Your Baby To A Dummy?
When introducing your baby to a pacifier:
- Don’t substitute a dummy for feeding – your baby needs to get used to your feeding routine.
- Choose the correct size – ensure the shield on the pacifier is always wider than the baby’s mouth, or else they could choke on it.
- Avoid using a pacifier with attachments – Newborn baby has many uncontrolled, sudden movements, and with their incredible grip, they could accidentally yank their dummy out of their mouth and hit themselves with it or choke on detachable parts.
How To Teach A Baby To Use Their Dummy Independently At Night?
The best thing you can do to teach your baby to use their dummy independently at night is to place their hand on the dummy every time you put it into their mouth, guiding it in with their hand on it.
As with anything you’re trying to teach your baby, consistency is key here, but it won’t take long for them to pick up the process, and they’ll soon be able to grab and place their dummy in their mouth by themselves.
It’s also a good idea to make sure their dummy can’t get too far away from your baby should it fall out of their mouth while they’re sleeping. Using a dummy clip is great for this as it will keep the dummy attached to their clothing, ensuring it’s within easy reach when needed.
Final Thoughts
Newborns can take to a dummy to help them fall asleep, and the decision whether or not to let your babies sleep with it is entirely up to you. There are multiple proven benefits of letting them sleep with a dummy, like preventing sleep-related infant deaths and helping preterm babies strengthen their sucking skills. Remember, if the pacifier falls, you need to keep it clean to prevent infections and not to let them too much after their teeth have erupted.