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Neonatal pacifier supply problems for NHS

There are growing reports that NHS hospitals are experiencing difficulty obtaining the GumDrop® pacifiers that are commonly used in their neonatal units.  The supplier has indicated that deliveries of GumDrop neonatal pacifier will not resume until the second quarter of 2018.

JollyPop neonatal pacifier
JollyPop pacifiers

Delta Medical International are pleased to be able to offer JollyPop® pacifiers, an equivalent product which has design improvements over GumDrop.  The JollyPop neonatal pacifier was designed by Read McCarty, the inventor of the GumDrop, using a new process and shape that has made the JollyPop more comfortable and safer than other neonatal pacifiers.

In an evaluation, with over 1,000 babies across over 120 USA hospitals, nursing staff reported 89% of patients liked the JollyPop with most of the rest just difficult to assess; 98% of nursing staff who expressed an opinion after the evaluation approved changing to JollyPop from current brand1.

Pacifiers are typically used in neonates where there is a need to encourage non-nutritive sucking, pain relief during minor procedures being one example2. A Cochrane review found that non-nutritive sucking is associated with shorter hospital stays and earlier transition from enteral feeding3. None of the studies in the review reported harmful effects from neonatal pacifier use.

A number of studies have suggested that giving pacifiers to infants can reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and this is reflected in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines, which suggest offering a pacifier to infants at the onset of sleep4.

More information can be found on our Product page and we would be delighted to discuss the benefits of the JollyPop neonatal pacifier with any departments experiencing supply problems – just contact us.

  1. McCarty R. Nursing Evaluation of a New Pacifier in Hospital Settings.  Personal Communication, 2015.
  2. Sexton S & Natale R.  Risks and benefits of pacifiers. American Family Physician, 2009.
  3. Pinelli J, Symington A.  Non-nutritive sucking for promoting physiologic stability and nutrition in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2005.
  4. American Academy of Pediatrics. The changing concept of sudden infant death syndrome. Pediatrics, 2005.

 

JollyPop® is a registered trademark of Sandbox Medical LLC
GumDrop® is a registered trademark of Natus Medical Inc

Our Products

Delta Medical International has particular expertise in the neonatal, maternity, perioperative, emergency, intensive care and paediatric departments, although our wider experience in biomedical engineering and medical product design takes us to many other areas of the hospital market.