| Products | Pacifiers | ||
The terms "pacifier", "soother" and "dummy" are often used interchangeably, since suppliers do not always use the same wording. Why Is A Pacifier Important? "The
gavage-fed baby is able to suck and has been doing so in-utero
since the early months of gestation; but he cannot nipple-feed
until he learns to suck, swallow, and breathe in the right
sequence. In the meantime, sucking remains an important activity
for the baby. Gavage-fed babies, even those on respirators, are
often given pacifiers to suck during their gavage meals.
Practice with a pacifier give the baby a stronger suck for later
nipple-feeding. Researchers have also found that babies who suck
on pacifiers during gavage feedings digest their food better and
gain more weight than do babies who are not given this sucking
experience."
"Another important developmental milestone comes at about 28
weeks, preemies begin to suck. Their sucking is feeble at first,
and still not coordinated with swallowing, so they aren't ready
to breastfeed or bottle feed yet. But they can suck on a tiny
pacifier or the tip of your pinky. Try it when your baby seems
agitated, and you'll see that this first "non-nutritive sucking
can help him relax and can even soothe mild pain" Why Must I Use A Premature Dummy And Not A Normal Dummy? The palate of the premature infant is still very soft. Using a normal dummy could lead to the palate being pushed-up and thus resulting in developmental problems, that could lead to problems with breast or bottle feeding and even speech. The premature infant may also gag on the bigger dummy. Why Can We Not Find A Premature Dummy In The Retail Outlets Premature dummies are much smaller than normal dummies, and in most cases they are classified as medical products, thus they may only be used under strict medical observation. Most premature dummies don't conform to the strict standards with regards to size, to prevent the dummy from being a swallowing hazard. Due to these reasons, premature dummies may not be sold in retail stores. What Dummies Do Preemies For Africa Recommend and Where Can We Obtain Them? Preemies For Africa recommend that you use either NUK or MAM premature dummies. Please visit the individual sections for more information on the products. You may find the products at some hospital pharmacies, or at the NICU. Products are also available direct from the suppliers and hospitals may order them from Little Miracle Products and Services, an approved supplier of most hospital groups.Should you not be able to locate them, please contact us at 080 PREEMIE (080 773 3643) or email us at support@preemiesforafrica.org and we will gladly help you. Are There Any Other Premature Dummies Available Other Than MAM and NUK? Yes there are. Visit Little Steps website and look under products.Some parents have also used the Pigeon No 1 soother. |
