Well, most mammal mommies don't put their babies on their backs to sleep, do they? Lying flat on the back is about the most non-physiological posture a mammal can have. It uncovers all soft  and vulnerable parts and and is the posture that makes it the hardest to get up and run in case of danger. All mammal babies  are either on their side or tummy down to sleep and crawling around when awake. Carrying animals never put their infants down at all, they sleep mostly either on their tummies on mommies back or in a somewhat upright position on mommies chest. We are biologically spoken carrying animals and should never put our babies down, either tummy or back down, unless it is tummy down on top of mom or dad.

Warmly,

Gonneke, IBCLC in southern Netherlands


--- On Mon, 10/19/09, Nikki Lee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
<
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/back-sleeping-infants-flat-heads-ear-infections/story?id=8665385
>
Dear Friends:

These researchers tell of an increase in flat-headed babies since the 1992
Back to Sleep campaign here in the USA; there is a trend associating a flat
head with otitis media.  As mothers are routinely cautioned against carrying
their babies in the postpartum unit, mothers associate carrying babies with
danger. This could be one reason babies aren't carried enough. And now a
well-meaning campaign is reaping an unexpected effect.

Who are we helping? The Back to Sleep campaign is credited with reduced
death from SIDS; however the statistician I work with pointed out that the
definition of SIDS and how the data were collected also changed at that same
time.......

What would mammals do? That is proving to be our best guide.

warmly,
-- 
Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI
craniosacral therapy practitioner
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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