Pathway analysis of time of pacifier use by children whose mothers are hearing impaired or have normal hearing

BACKGROUND: The lack of mothers’ understanding and information can increase their anxiety and lead to unhealthy behaviors, such as pacifier-use, in their children. AIM: This study aimed to perform pathway analysis of pacifier use by children whose mothers were hearing impaired or had normal hearing. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 116 Brazilian mothers (29 hearing impaired and 87 with normal hearing). Mothers were interviewed about socioeconomic factors and their children’s pacifier use habits. They also completed the deaf or hearing versions of the Brazilian Beck Anxiety Inventory. The pathway analysis was used to determine the effects of different variables in the two groups. RESULTS: The child pacifier use pathway among hearing mothers was associated with a long duration of pacifier use (P=0.005), bottle-feeding use (P=0.004), and mothers who had maternity leave (P=0.004). The child pacifier use pathway among mothers who were deaf was associated with premature birth (P=0.025) and a short duration of pacifier use (P=0.005). Mothers who were deaf were also more anxious than those who have normal hearing (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Children of normal hearing mothers used a pacifier for a longer duration than the children of mothers who were deaf. Time of pacifier use was also directly affected by bottle-feeding and maternity leave. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: These findings provide important information about the cultural path of pacifier use taken by families that had members with and without hearing impairment.