48 healthy neonates born to multiparae were randomly assigned to view a moving stimulus either in the horizontal or the upright position, with or without added vestibular stimulation and with or without pacifier sucking. The infant was shown a moving black line inside a strictly controlled visual environment provided by an apparatus which permitted horizontal and upright positioning and displac...

QUESTION As a family physician who frequently attends deliveries and follows up with neonates, parents often ask me if they can provide their newborns with pacifiers in order to calm infants down, reduce crying, and improve sleep. Is pacifier use safe in the first month of life? ANSWER While pacifiers are useful for soothing, there is concern that their use might cause early weaning of breast...

H ealthy People 2000 goals state that 75 percent of women in this country will initiate breastfeeding and 50 percent will continue to breastfeed at 5–6 months. Currently, about 59 percent of women initiate breastfeeding and as few as 20 percent are still breastfeeding at 6 months. Proper sucking technique is believed to be critical to establishing breastfeeding and preventing early breastfeedin...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of oral habits and breastfeeding on the oral skills of children. METHODS Cross-sectional study evaluated the oral skills of 125 nine-month-old-children born at term, belonging to Macro-Midwest region of Rio Grande do Sul between August 2010 and March 2011. Variables included evaluating oral skills and information on breast...

Four cases of apparently voluntary rapid vibratory pacifier movements occurring in normal, unstressed infants up to 1 year of age and captured on video are presented. I speculate on the possible relationship of the movements to similar vibratory jaw movements in dogs, in which species they may represent a neuromuscular mechanism for rapid feedback control.

OBJECTIVES To describe breastfeeding practices from 0 to 12 months of age in 4 small towns that are representative of urban northeast Brazil and to identify factors associated with introduction of other milk in the first month of life. METHODS From January to August 1998, 364 mothers were interviewed at delivery to ascertain antenatal care; delivery room practices; and their intentions regard...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that children's nonnutritive sucking habits may lead to delayed development of their oral anatomy and functioning. However, these findings were inconsistent. We investigated associations between use of bottles, pacifiers, and other sucking behaviors with speech disorders in children attending three preschools in Punta Arenas (Patagonia), Chile. METHODS I...