Why Do Babies Like Pacifiers & Sucking?
Everything you need to know about your baby's innate need to suck
To calm baby, parents can respond to his need to suck. Thumb, breast or pacifier can soothe your child thanks to this innate reflex. Focus on the unsuspected roles of sucking in babies, and on the mistakes to avoid!
The need to suck, an innate reflex in babies
Baby sucking is a mechanism that fulfills many unsuspected roles. It is an innate reflex that originates before birth and can last for many years and sometimes even beyond 5 years!
The origins of the need to suck
While still in the mother's uterus, a child already sucks his thumb! This is called prenatal thumb sucking, which appears around the 10th week of pregnancy. This phenomenon is accompanied by swallowing of amniotic fluid. It is in the first 2 hours of the infant's life that this sucking reflex is at its peak. This precocity allows for a first feeding in good conditions.
There are two types of sucking in infants:
- So-called "nutritive" sucking is when the baby sucks effectively to feed. This involves long bursts of sucking without letting go of the breast or bottle, with swallowing at each suck.
- "Non-nutritive" sucking : Toddlers and premature babies take many breaks during feedings. They then "suck" without drinking. The sucking movements are faster, without amplitude, in short bursts separated by long pauses and the child rarely swallows. This type of sucking also exists outside of any feeling of hunger in all infants, not just newborns. The breast, thumb, pacifier or comforter can meet this need for non-nutritive sucking.
Sucking is an innate need in all infants. After the age of 4 months, it is also a way of discovering one's own body, but also the outside world by bringing fingers and objects to the mouth.
Between 18 and 21 months, we also observe a maximum increase in the need for sucking. Touch also allows babies to discover the world: read our article Baby's skin, learning to touch .
The Roles of Infant Sucking
Sucking plays several roles in the physiological and psychological development of the child:
- The nutritional role : A feed corresponds to 4 or 5 periods of nutritive sucking interspersed with periods of non-nutritive sucking. At the beginning of the feed, the nutritional role of sucking is maximal: the flow is strong and swallowing is regular. On the contrary, at the end of the feed, the flow is slow and swallowing is less frequent. Finally, the child only "sucks", falls asleep or stops on his own.
- The role of regulating milk production : sucking the breast maintains the production of breast milk. The breasts produce milk according to the needs of the child and adapt to variations in its appetite.
- The anti-stress and anti-pain role : during sucking, the infant's body secretes endorphins. These molecules are neurotransmitters capable of providing a feeling of well-being conducive to relaxation and sleep, but also of combating pain (analgesic effect). Studies show that medical care is easier on infants during a feed: pain and stress are felt less, and their heart rate decreases!
- The soothing role : it responds to the same mechanisms as before. Sucking calms and secures the baby, it soothes tensions and frustrations. It is a source of satisfaction for the infant.
- The role of regulating swallowing and breathing : some specialist authors present infant sucking as a regulator of mouth breathing and swallowing, both in terms of the rhythm and the movements made by the mouth and pharynx.
- Social role : the interaction between the mother and the child during breast sucking is a first form of dialogue. When the sucking stops, the mother changes the child's position, this is a sign to him. The child then begins to exchange glances with his mother, and even responds by sucking.
- The role of psychological maturation : the sucking reflex contributes to the child's healthy psychological maturation.
The need to suck is natural: it is important to respond to this need without fighting against it or trying to limit it. This could indeed lead to frustration, discomfort or even unhappiness in your child.
Soothe your baby with suction
The need to suck, if not satisfied, can make your baby irritable. Thanks to the anti-stress role of sucking, it is possible to calm your child naturally.
Thumb and pacifiers
If your baby is crying or fussing, he may have a problem: you should try to identify it before offering sucking. It could be hunger, a wet diaper, a stomach ache, teething ... If no cause seems obvious, you can give him a pacifier, his thumb, your well-washed finger, or even your breast. Your child will be reassured and will calm down thanks to the anti-stress powers of sucking. Pamper him by speaking to him in a soft voice.
For a baby to be able to calm down independently and meet his need to suck, his thumb has an advantage: he always has it with him! However, a child who begins to suck his thumb will do so over a long period of time, sometimes up to 6 years old.
Pacifiers, also called dummies or pacifiers, help to overcome this inconvenience: it is much easier to make them disappear to stop using them. But unlike his thumb, baby does not always know how to catch them, especially during the night: he will probably make you get up at the beginning so that you give him back! Did you know that some pacifiers are phosphorescent? They glow in the dark and are easier to find.
If you want to calm baby down to sleep, read our article How to put baby to bed for better sleep .
Mistakes to avoid
Most of the time, children gradually lose interest in their pacifiers. This phenomenon often coincides with the start of daycare or school: babies become more social and now have other interests. School also sets its own rules and pacifiers often have to stay at home. After the age of 3, if babies remain very attached to their pacifier, do not rush them: they may need attention. You must support them in weaning them from the pacifier by explaining that they are growing up, but never forbid them. If in doubt, you can talk to a pediatrician.
On the contrary, the use of a pacifier should not be systematic to meet daily needs. When weaning your child off the pacifier, it is important to adapt to the situations. The pacifier should gradually disappear to limit its use to crying and sleeping. For example, you can leave the pacifier in the bed to reserve it for naps and bedtime. These are situations during which the need for sucking is at its maximum. It will then be easier for your child to do without it.
During early childhood, some parents systematically offer breastfeeding to their child to soothe him when he cries. Compulsory nutritious sucking is a bad idea: it can lead to overfeeding.
When baby starts talking, do not leave him with his thumb or pacifier in his mouth when he says his first words. Be uncompromising: simultaneous sucking could disrupt language development.
