A Winnipeg mother is sounding the alarm about pacifiers, after she said her son choked on a soother, an incident that gave her scare of her life.

Monique Dupuis' two-year-old son's pacifier broke off in his mouth after using it for just two days.

She had to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre to get it out and save the child. Zakari was in the playpen, when she said, she noticed him gasping for air.

“You could see him struggling and it wasn't until I saw on the floor the top part of the soother...that I realized, ‘Oh my God. where is the other end?” said Dupuis.

With two taps on his back, a piece of silicone fell out of his mouth. Dupuis said she routinely checks her son's pacifier for tears and feels lucky she was there when she was choking.

"I may have woken up to a dead baby, essentially. It's just terrifying,” she said.

Dupuis said the soother was new - only two days old, and was for babies six months and up.

She said she asked Loblaw to pull them from shelves, but said she feels they dismissed her request.

"In the end, they told me they were going to keep an eye on it and give me a $25 gift card for my exchange."

In a statement, Loblaw said they take product safety seriously, that pacifiers are highly regulated and manufactured under strict regulations.

“All styles of pacifier are subjected to extensive testing including a 10-pound stress test. Neither we nor the manufacturer have received similar complaints regarding the pacifiers previously. We have no reason to believe this was the result of a manufacturing defect,” said Kevin Groh, vice-president corporate affairs and communication, Loblaw Companies Limited.

Debate over two-piece pacifiers

Pediatrician Dr. Grant MacDougall said Dupuis' story is rare.

The problem, he said could be the soother she gave Zakari, was a two-piece pacifier. He recommends parents give baby's one-piece pacifiers.

He also said chewing part of the silicone off is possible, especially if the child has teeth and is older than a year.

“They absolutely…can rip those little pacifiers apart, said MacDougall.

“So take the two-piece pacifiers and throw them out,” he said.

Since the incident, Dupuis now gives Zakari, A heavier-duty, one-piece pacifier.

Still, she doesn't believe Zakari is to blame and puts the onus on the product itself.

“I don't think he chewed on it, and if he had chewed on it, it's in their mouth. They have teeth,” said Dupuis

Dupuis sent the pacifiers to Loblaw. She said they did a test and determined the silicone piece was chewed off.

Dupuis said she still wants warn others to prevent another baby from choking and so parents don't have a similar scare.

How safe are pacifiers?

The Canadian Pediatric Society says online never let your baby or child chew on a pacifier. It says it could break down and cause choking and death.

CTV News contacted Health Canada. It said they looked up The President’s Choice pacifier is not on the recall list.

It told CTV that parents should check pacifiers for breaks or tears daily. For children who are teething, Health Canada advises parents give them a teething ring as a safer alternative.

Finally, Health Canada said if a parent notices a problem with a pacifier, they should report it immediately.