Abstract
In order to find out how much sucking human newborns evidence when a sucking object is readily available, pacifiers were given to 10 newborns in response to the spontaneous occurrence of empty sucking, rooting, and mouthing and were left in their mouths until the babies relinquished them. The spontaneous occurrence of these behaviors and of finger sucking was also observed in a control group of 10 babies. Both groups were observed continually during the 2 hours before a feeding and the first hour afterward, starting before the very first feeding and continuing at regular 24-hour intervals for 4 days. The amount of time spent sucking a pacifier or finger(s) was recorded for both groups. The results indicated that the newborns spent about half an hour per hour sucking a pacifier starting on the very first day of life, and that this did not vary with feeding experience. They also indicated that some newborns in the control group sucked their fingers, 1 for considerable periods of time. The results suggest that human newborns, like other newborn mammals, program considerable sucking time for themselves regardless of whether or not milk is forthcoming.
Published Version
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