Pacifier Sucking Reduces Risk of Allergy Development

Parents who clean their baby's pacifiers by sucking on them may be protecting their infants from developing allergies, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) analyzed the records of 184 infants born at Mölndal Hospital (Gothenburg, Sweden). The parents kept diaries covering the first year of life for the infants, and a pediatric allergist examined the children at 18 and 36 months of age for clinical allergy and sensitization to airborne and food allergens. The oral microbiota of the infants was characterized by analysis of saliva samples collected at 4 months of age, and all pacifier-cleaning practices were obtained through parental interviews when the children were 6 months of age.

The results showed that children whose parents "cleaned" their pacifier by sucking it were less likely to have asthma, eczema, and sensitization at 18 months of age than children whose parents did not use this cleaning technique. Protection against eczema remained at age 36 months. Vaginal delivery and parental pacifier sucking yielded independent and additive protective effects against eczema development. The researchers also found that salivary microbiota differed between children whose parents cleaned their pacifier by sucking it and children whose parents did not use this practice. The study was published early online on May 6, 2013, in Pediatrics.

“The evidence suggests that having their parents suck on their pacifiers and being exposed to bodily fluids during vaginal birth positively influences infants' microbiota composition,” concluded lead author associate professor of pediatric allergology Bill Hesselmar, MD, and colleagues. “By no doubt, this habit allows for a close oral contact between parents and child, facilitating bacterial transfer at a very young age, before the child starts to use spoons.”

The use of a pacifier has also been associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) when used up to one year of age. Another study contends that the widespread occurrence of attachments to pacifiers, as well as their importance as security objects, should reassure parents that they are a normal part of development for a majority of infants.

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