The connection between pacifiers and SIDS is not that pacifiers cause SIDS. In fact, it may be the WITHDRAWAL of pacifiers from the baby who needs one which is the issue. I was surfing on the internet one night looking for info on tongue-tie for a presentation I was preparing, and came across a fascinating paper by some Japanese researchers on thumb-sucking and apnea. They were interested in the question: is thumb and finger sucking just a habit some babies develop or some sort of survival mechanism? They discovered that some infants have apnea problems which they attempt to control with non-nutritive sucking. These babies have brains which somehow don't keep breathing going very efficiently during sleep. Another center in the brain controls breathing during sucking, so the babies figure out that if they can do NNS during sleep, they don't have as many apnea episodes. The researchers monitored this activity and decided the babies weren't habituated, they were protecting themselves. This work rang a bell with me when Peter Fleming presented his work on pacifiers and SIDs at the recent BSC conf. (he published this research in March issue of Pediatrics). The study he presented discussed whether pacifier use is protective against SIDS. He found some evidence for this, and calls for more research to see whether these findings hold. I suspect the mechanism may be the same as with digit sucking. It really made me wonder about the breastfed babies we all have known who just hang on the breast and want to nurse all night. Are they using the breast the same way? I never have believed organisms do things just for the hell of it. There is almost always a reason for behavior. It must of course be pointed out that pacifier use has other risks associated with it -- shorter duration of bfg, higher rates of infection, thrush, etc. But it is interesting to see how some of the objects we have strong antipathy to may have utility. An open mind is the best tool of the scientist. Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas http://www.jump.net/~bwc/lactnews.html *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html