AAP approves pacifier use for soothing and calming, it recommends delaying its use until breastfeeding is well established. Though pacifiers have protective effects against SIDS, prolonged use of a pacifier can lead to complications. AAFP discourages the use by 6 months to 1 year of age. Pacifier use guidelines are not established primarily due to a paucity of information regarding initiation, termination, benefits, and harmful effects of pacifiers by parents. We aim to investigate pacifier use among caregivers of 0-1-year-old infants. It was a descriptive study of parents or caregivers of children 0-1 year of age who completed a questionnaire focused on pacifier use. Statistical analysis was calculated using SPSS version 23. 133 caregivers were interviewed. 118(88.7%) caregivers were mothers. 91 (68.4%) of caregivers identified as Hispanic and 42 (30.1%) as African American. Caregivers reported that mean pacifier use was 16 months and 3.4 hours/day. 106 (80%) reported the most common use of the pacifier alone was to calm the baby. For the weaning method, 37 (27.8%) stated that gradual decrease of pacifiers was useful whereas 33 (24.8%) stated that abrupt removal of pacifiers was effective. 72 (54.1%) reported that their family and friends recommended pacifiers. 11 (8.3%) caregivers reported that information about pacifiers was provided by medical and day-care providers. Pacifier use was not significantly related to the feeding method during the first two months of life. This study identifies impressions and common misconceptions of pacifier use which may assist in the development of comprehensive guidelines.

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