Pacifier
996964
225704369
2008-07-15T00:11:19Z
Alfredo J. Herrera Lago
3723895
/* Note */ Changed "Note" to "Notes".
{{otheruses1|the baby pacifier}}
[[Image:Schnuller.JPG|thumb|right|A pacifier]]
A '''pacifier''', '''dummy''', '''comforter''', or '''soother''' is a [[rubber]], [[plastic]], or [[silicone]] [[nipple]] given to an [[infant]] or other young child to suck upon. In its standard appearance it has a [[teat]], mouth shield, and handle. The mouth shield and/or the handle is large enough to avoid the danger that the child [[Choking#Foreign_objects|chokes]] on it or [[swallowing|swallows]] it.
==History==
[[Image:Baby Comforter 1900.jpg|thumb|left|Baby Comforter design - 1900]]
There is a long history of parents giving their children items to suck on in order to comfort them.
Pacifiers were settling into their modern form around 1900 when the first teat, shield and handle design was patented in the US as a "baby comforter".<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/main/search.html Design Patent number D33,212] C.W.Meinecke Sep 18 1900</ref> Rubber had been used in flexible teethers sold as "elastic gum rings" for British babies in the mid-1800s,<ref>[http://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/dummies%20breast%20sheilds.htm S. Levin, MB(RAND) VLR.C.P.(EDNN.) DCH, in ''South African Medical Journal'' 1971]</ref> and also used for feeding-bottle teats. In 1902 [[Sears Roebuck]] advertised a "new style rubber teething ring, with one hard and one soft nipple",<ref>[http://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/dummies%20breast%20sheilds.htm Sears Roebuck catalog 1902]</ref> and in 1909 someone calling herself "Auntie Pacifier" wrote to the ''New York Times'' to warn of the "menace to health" (she meant dental health) of "the persistent, and, among poorer classes, the universal sucking of a rubber nipple sold as a 'pacifier'."<ref>''[[New York Times]]'' June 30 1909</ref> In England too, dummies were seen as something the "poorer classes" would use, and associated with poor hygiene. In 1914 a [[London]] doctor complained about "the dummy teat": "If it falls on the floor it is rubbed momentarily on the mother's blouse or apron, lipped by the mother and replaced in the baby's mouth."<ref>[http://rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk/data/VOLUME055-1915/page123-volume55-07thaugust1915.pdf''British Journal of Nursing: The Midwife'' Aug 7 1915]</ref>
Early pacifiers were manufactured with a choice of black, maroon or white rubber, though the white rubber of the day contained a certain amount of lead. One of the best-known brands was the ''Binki'', which became a general name for ''pacifier'' in the US. ''Binky'' (with a ''y'') was first used as a brand name for pacifiers and other baby products in about 1935.<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/main/search.html According to trademark registration documents 1948]</ref>
[[Image:Madonna and Siskin detail.jpg|thumb|right|Tied-cloth "pacifier" - 1506]]
Pacifiers were a development of hard teething rings, but they were also a substitute for the softer ''sugar tits'', ''sugar-teats'' or ''sugar-rags'' <ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''</ref>which had been in use in 19th century America. A writer in 1873 described a "sugar-teat" made from "a small piece of old linen" with a "spoonful of rather sandy sugar in the centre of it", "gathered ... up into a little ball" with a thread tied tightly around it. <ref>[http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=wright2;cc=wright2;sid=7be904423dbfa3d5f5839509345adcdf;tpl=home.tpl Cecilia Viets Jamieson ''Ropes of Sand'' Chapter 2: Top's baby (1873)]</ref> Rags with foodstuffs tied inside were also given to babies in many parts of Northern Europe and elsewhere. In some places a lump of meat or fat was tied in cloth, and sometimes the rag was moistened with brandy. German-speaking areas might use ''Lutschbeutel'': cloth wrapped round sweetened bread, or maybe poppy-seeds. A [[Madonna (art)|Madonna]] and child painted by [[Dürer]] in 1506<ref>[http://www.wga.hu/html/d/durer/1/05/06siski.html Madonna and Siskin]</ref> shows one of these tied-cloth "pacifiers" in the baby's hand.<ref>S. Levin</ref>
In the 1800s, the expression "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" could be taken almost literally – silver soothers/teethers were often given to babies born to wealth. Other expensive materials were also used, with mother-of-pearl or coral being thought to ward off sickness. Coral was believed to guard against all kinds of evil,<ref>[http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/default.asp?Document=200.23.001.05 Norfolk Museums]</ref> and in England in the 17th-19th centuries, ''a coral'' meant a teething toy made of coral, ivory or bone, often mounted in silver as the handle of a rattle.<ref>''[[OED]]'''; [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roco/hod_47.70.htm Examples from the Metropolitan]</ref> A museum curator has suggested that these substances were used as "sympathetic magic"<ref>[http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/childcare/rattle/index.html Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood]</ref> and that the animal bone could symbolise animal strength to help the child cope with pain.
==Problems caused by use==
If a pacifier is dipped in a sugary substance like [[syrup]] or [[honey]] (a practice employed by some, and perhaps related to the outdated sugar tit) it may cause [[dental caries]] in emerging teeth. Feeding honey to infants is also dangerous due to the risk of [[botulism]].
[[Image:BabySuckingFingers.jpg||thumb|Infants may use pacifier or thumb or fingers to soothe themselves]]
Pacifiers have been shown to interfere with [[breastfeeding]], especially if introduced within the first 6 weeks of life.<ref name="Sanches_2004">{{cite journal |author=Sanches MTC |title= Clinical management of oral disorders in breastfeeding |journal=J Pediatr (Rio J) |volume=80 |issue=5 Suppl |pages=S155–62 |year=2004 |doi=10.1590/S0021-75572004000700007 | pmid=15583766 | accessdate=2007-02-10}}</ref><ref name="Marmet_2000">{{cite journal | author=Marmet C | coauthors=Shell E, Aldana S | title=Assessing infant suck dysfunction: case management | journal=Journal of Human Lactation | volume=16 | issue=4 | pages=pp. 332–336 | year=2000 | pmid=11188682 | doi=10.1177/089033440001600409}}</ref>
Children who suck pacifiers may be more prone to ear infections ([[otitis media]]).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7463911.stm Dummy use link to ear infections]</ref>
Some older infants may have delayed speech development due to the pacifier's constant presence in their mouths preventing them from practising their speaking skills.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
==Problems remedied by use==
Researchers have found that use of a pacifier is associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of [[Sudden infant death syndrome|SIDS]] (Sudden infant death syndrome). <ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051208231745.htm Report in ''Science Daily'']</ref> A meta-analytic study published by American Pediatric Association in ''Pediatrics'' in October 2005 supports this benefit to 1 year of age.<ref>[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/116/5/e716 Do Pacifiers Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? A Meta-analysis]</ref><ref>[http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;116/5/1245#SEC6 The Changing Concept of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome]</ref>. However other experts while acknowledging the [[correlation]] between SIDS risk reduction and the pacifier use, questioned the [[causality]] of the findings.<ref>[http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=2051 "Pacifiers and SIDS ?", Dr. Alan Green]</ref><ref>[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0602/S00052.htm "Dr. Jim Sprott On US Cot Death Research"]</ref>
Additionally some parents prefer the use of pacifiers to the child [[sucking]] their [[thumbs]], and they are used to treat [[colic]] {{Fact|date=November 2007}}.
==Medical policies==
The [http://www.aapd.org/ American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry]'s 'Policy on [http://www.aapd.org/publications/brochures/tfphabits.asp Thumb, Finger and Pacifier Habits]' says: "For most children there is no reason to worry about a sucking habit until the permanent front teeth are ready to come in."
A study of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) published in [http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/ Pediatrics], the journal of the [http://www.aap.org/ American Academy of Pediatrics] (AAP) states that "It seems appropriate to stop discouraging the use of pacifiers." The authors recommend the use of pacifiers at nap time and bedtime throughout the first year of life. For breastfeeding mothers, the authors suggest waiting until breastfeeding is well established, typically for several weeks, before introducing the pacifier.<ref name="Mitchell_2005">{{cite journal |author=Mitchell, E.A., Blair P.S., L'Hoir M.P. |title= Should Pacifiers Be Recommended to Prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? |journal=Pediatrics |volume=117 |issue=5 |pages=1755–1758 |year=2005 |doi=10.1542/peds.2005-1625 | accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref>
The [http://www.dentalhealth.org.uk/ British Dental Health Foundation]'s [http://www.dentalhealth.org.uk/faqs/leafletdetail.php?LeafletID=23 FAQ page] recommends: "If you can, avoid using a dummy and discourage thumb sucking. These can both eventually cause problems with how the teeth grow and develop. And this may need treatment with a brace when the child gets older."
==In popular culture==
[[Maggie Simpson]] from the animated television show ''[[The Simpsons]]'' is rarely separated from her pacifier, and her constant "suck, suck" sound has been one of the few sounds made by the baby. In the episode, ''[[Last Exit to Springfield]]'', a dentist mentions that Maggie's teeth are crooked, and asks Marge if Maggie uses a pacifier, and Marge lies, only for the dentist to exclaim "Liar!"; this is a reference to the consequences of pacifier use.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, it became a teen [[fashion]] trend to wear pacifiers as accessories. This was associated with [[techno]] music and the use of the drug [[MDMA]] (used due to oral [[dystonia]] and the urge to grind or gnash teeth while on the drug), leading to a ban on this trend in many places.
==Adult pacifiers==
Many adults are now using pacifiers to comfort themselves. An adult pacifier consists of a standard baby pacifier guard but a larger, wider nipple. There are companies now who do deals in which you can send them your favourite pacifier and they will put a bigger nipple on it for you. These new nipples are reffered to as Nuk5's. This is because Nuk - a pacifer making company - makes a pacifer designed for speech therapy for adults.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}
==Other uses of pacifiers by adults==
Some adults might also use pacifiers because they have some form of [[autism]] such as [[Asperger syndrome]]. There are autistic children that use pacifiers way beyond age 5 or 6. A developmentally delayed child may use a pacifier for an extended period of time. It is thought that it is a stimulation thing or oral stim (and very comforting) for people with autism and other disorders such as [[Rett syndrome]], [[pervasive developmental disorder]] - None otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and [[sensory integration disorder]]s.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}
In [[Australian English]], "spit the dummy" is a colloquial expression meaning to get angry or obstinate, since a baby that spits its dummy is beyond pacification.
==Notes==
<references/>
==See also==
The [[Glot-Up]], a combination mouth guard and adult-sized pacifier.
==External links==
{{commonscat|Pacifiers}}
*[http://www.babybottle-museum.co.uk/dummy.htm Dummies, Pacifiers, Soothers - history]
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