The relationship between pacifier use, bottle feeding and breast feeding

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the influence of pacifier use and the introduction of formula milk on breast feeding.Methods: The mothers of 356 healthy newborn infants who initiated breastfeeding while in-patients were interviewed within 3 days of birth and later at 2 and 6 months postpartum. Information regarding previous birth, breast-feeding frequency, pacifier use and the adoption offormula milk were obtained. The data were analyzed using χ2 and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results: At the end of the second month, 264 (74%) of the mothers were still breast feeding;by the end of the sixth month this had fallen to 236 (66%). Among the 356 mothers, 152 had at least one previous infant, and 132 (86.8%) of them had breast fed a previous infant. Of the women who breastfed their previous infant for more than 2 months, 112 (84.8%) breast fed the current child until the end of the second month and 104 (78.7%) until the end of the sixth month after delivery. Of all investigatedpatients, 204 were primiparous (57.3%). Of these, 152 (74.5%) breast fed until the end of the second month, and 132 (64.7%) until the end of the sixth month after delivery. Among the 204 primiparae, 92(45%) gave formula to their newborn infants. Forty-four of these 92 mothers (47.8%) had discontinued breast feeding by the end of the second month. Among the 356 newborn infants, 220 used pacifiers at theend of the second month. Within this group, 72 (33%) of the infants did not breast feed, while 148 (67%) did breast feed. Of all investigated mothers, 136 did not give pacifiers to their infants and onlyeight of these mothers (6%) had stopped breast feeding at the end of the second month.Conclusions: We found an inverse correlation between pacifier usage and breast feeding. Breast feeding wasmost common among multiparous mothers.