Infant sucking habits may affect how baby talks

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Persistent pacifier, bottle and finger sucking may hamper a child's speech

development

 

October 21, 2009

Source: University of Washington   

 

Pacifier, baby bottle or finger sucking may hamper a child's speech development

if the habit goes on too long.

 

In a study that took place in Patagonia, Chile, researchers associated the

persistence of these sucking habits with an increased risk of speech disorders

in preschool children. The children were more likely to have difficulty

producing certain word sounds and to simplify their pronunciation.

 

The results were published Wednesday, Oct. 21, in BMC Pediatrics, an online,

open-access medical journal.

 

A team led by Clarita Barbosa from Corporacion de Rehabilitacion Club De Leones

Cruz Del Sur conducted the study, along with collaborators from the University

of Washington (UW) Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT)

Program in the School of Public Health, the Department of Epidemiology, and the

Department of Global Health.

Looking at a group of 128 children age 3 years to 5 years, the researchers

gathered parents' reports of each child's feeding and sucking behaviors during

infancy and evaluated the child's speech. The researchers found that delaying

giving a baby bottle until the child was at least 9 months old reduced the risk

of later developing speech disorders, while children who sucked their fingers or

who used a pacifier for more than 3 years were three times more likely to

develop speech impediments.

 

" These results suggest extended sucking outside of breast-feeding may have

detrimental effects on speech development in young children, " according to

Barbosa. This finding is particularly relevant, as the use of baby bottles and

pacifiers has increased over the past few decades. However, Barbosa is careful

to note, " Although results of this study provide further evidence for the

benefits of longer duration of breast feeding of infants, they should be

interpreted with caution as these data are observational. "

 

Earlier studies by other researchers have suggested that babies', toddlers' and

pre-schoolers' sucking habits may influence their mouth, jaw and dental anatomy.

Previous research also has suggested that breast feeding may be beneficial to

developing coordinated breathing, swallowing and speech articulation.

 

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" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport