The following is a letter written by Dr. J. Bruce Beckwith after he evaluated the Boston Billows. It will appear on their website next week.
I understand the point made by some LCs that we breastfed well with no accessories years ago. I agree that a pregnant woman doesn't need to run out and get all sorts of gadgets ahead of time. On the other hand, I find pillows, especially the Billows, to be helpful in some situations, especially if the mom is tense, awkward, or has an extremely small baby hooked up to lots of machines. After all, there's lots of tools that we use now that we didn't have when I had my kids 38 years ago. Pumps, SNS's, shields, etc. have all helped us out in difficult situations. Also, I don't think we can ignore the fact that parents, friends and relatives are looking to buy lots of things for the new baby, though I agree that many of them are an unnecessary expense.
J. Bruce Beckwith, M.D.
88 Brookside Way
Missoula, MT 59802
Phone: (406)549-4247 FAX: (406)829-1624
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
August 27, 2004
To Whom it May Concern:
I am a pediatric pathologist, retired from active practice since 1999, who has had extensive experience with the problem of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). I was the Principal Investigator of the first large NICHHD research grant to study the problem of sudden unexpected and unexplained death in infants. I was responsible for the term SIDS, have published several dozen research papers on this topic, and have received numerous awards and recognitions nationally and internationally for my work on this and other problems. Among the latter, I was the first recipient of the "Astute Clinician Award", instituted by the NIH in 1998. The recipient for this award is selected by the Director of the NIH. I have performed postmortems on more than 1200 victims of sudden unexpected infant death. My most recent publications on this topic, dealing with definitional issues, are cited below.
Earlier this year, I was asked by Mr. Skoog to evaluate the Boston Billows product from the standpoint of its potential danger to sleeping infants. I am providing my evaluation without the expectation of compensation in any form, either now or in the future. I was made aware of concerns expressed by others that the "CO2 rebreathing theory" proposed by Drs. Kemp and Thach might apply to this product because it contains pellets that might be capable of CO2 trapping. Similar concerns raised by their research findings had led the CPSC to ban the production, sale, and use of cushions filled with foam pellets. I have presented in several trials my reasons for disagreeing with the opinions that led to that action on the part of the CPSC. There are substantial scientific questions concerning the validity and applicability of the Kemp-Thach theory to the problem of SIDS. One that has not received sufficient attention to date is the fact that their experimental model, using rabbits breathing through an endotracheal tube attached to a model of an infant head, placed face down in a pillow, obviously contains dead space exceeding the small tidal volume of the animal in question! This model therefore guarantees that substantial rebreathing will occur. This is only one of several serious questions that was not adequately addressed either by reviewers of the publications in which the data were presented, nor by the CPSC. The latter also failed to adequately consider the number of random SIDS cases that would have been expected to occur on "beanbag pillows" by random statistics, given the general risk at that time of one per 500 infants, and the number of pillows that had been on the market. The number of SIDS deaths reported to have occurred in infants sleeping on these pillows was less than 30 nationwide, despite aggressive efforts on the part of plaintiff's attorneys to find such cases.
But I will not belabor that issue further, as it clearly has no application to the Boston Billow product. I was shocked when I received an exemplar from Mr. Skoug, as the shape is absolutely inconsistent with any problem related to infant sleep. This fact is so obvious to anyone who sees this product I feel no need to explain it further. It is inconceivable that an infant could get into a sleeping position on this object. Its density is such that no important indentation could be made by the infant face, and the tight weave of the surface fabric would drastically impair the free passage of carbon dioxide or other respiratory gases.
The decision to ban this product was an egregious example of bureaucratic arrogance at its worst. I urge all who have the power to reverse that decision to spare the bureaucracy the embarrassment they will suffer from publicity concerning this act. It removes from the marketplace a product of proven usefulness in encouraging successful breast-feeding, which is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as an important means of reducing the incidence of SIDS.
Respectfully submitted,
J. Bruce Beckwith, M.D.
Recent publications on SIDS
Beckwith JB: Defining the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Arch Pediatr Adol Med 157:286-90, 2003.
Krous HF, Beckwith JB, Byard RW, Rognum TO, Bajanowski,T, Corey T, Cutz E, Hanzlick R, Keens T, Mitchell E: Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and unclassified sudden Infant deaths (USID): A definitional and diagnostic approach. Pediatrics 114:234-8, 200
Marilyn Farland, IBCLC
[log in to unmask]
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
