British News
February 26, 2003

Bottle-fed babies in parents' bed at risk of cot death
By Alexandra Frean, Social Affairs Correspondent


BOTTLE-FED babies are at greater risk of cot death than breast-fed babies if
they share a bed with their mothers, research shows.

A team at Durham University led by Helen Ball, a social anthropologist, has
discovered that breast-feeding mothers instinctively adopt a safe sleeping
position, curled around their baby with its head at breast level.

Mothers who bottle-feed, however, are far more likely to turn their back on
their sleeping baby or to place its head level with their own on a pillow as
if they were sleeping with another adult.

Medical and childcare experts have been divided for years over the effects
of bed-sharing. Proponents argue that it assists night breast-feeding and
may help to combat sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death. Opponents say
that babies are at risk of being smothered or of becoming poor sleepers.

etc
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I accessed the full article at The Times website -- had to register.

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK


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