This is a quantitative study whose objectives were to compare the time of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among the age groups of early pacifier use and verify the presence of an association between pacifier use and early discontinuation of EBF. The sample was from 362 children whose mothers have had prenatal care in the Health Basic Units of Maringá, in 2009. It was used Chi-square test and odds ratio at nonparametric ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis analysis. More than half of the children did not use a pacifier, among those who use pacifier, in 26.51% of the cases, the pacifier was introduced in the first month. No significant difference was found between the duration of EBF and the age groups of early pacifier use, however significance was found between the group of children who did not use pacifiers with the other groups (p <0.05). There was a significant association between pacifier use and early weaning (p <0.05, OR = 3.2).
Breast Feeding; Pacifiers; Weaning; Nursing
