Hi, All, I am quite behind on my digests, so I'm not sure if this has been
posted here yet.  A friend on another list forwarded it on to me today.  It
has no date or source, I was told it was just released, but I have no
further information...

     Study: Pacifiers cut risk of crib death
     Reuters

     Giving a baby a pacifier at night radically reduces the risk of crib
     death, said a Dutch study published Tuesday.

     The study, which surveyed 219 babies over a period of 18 months, found
     babies who were habitually put to bed with a pacifier were 20 times
     less likely to fall victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

     ``Once we had corrected for all other factors, we were surprised to
     find that putting your baby to bed with a pacifier reduced the risk of
     crib death by a factor of 20,'' said Monique l'Hoir, who led the
     research at Wilhelmina children's hospital in Utrecht, the
     Netherlands.

     Studies in New Zealand and elsewhere earlier indicated pacifiers might
     be an aid to preventing crib death, but the Dutch study put forward
     convincing evidence, L'Hoir told Reuters.

     She said the incidence of crib death in the Netherlands was relatively
     low at one in 4,000 infants (0.26 per 1,000), mainly due to a late
     1980s community health drive which taught 90 percent of Dutch parents
     to lay babies to sleep on their backs.

     The Dutch figure compares with an incidence of 1.05 crib deaths per
     1,000 babies in the United States and 1.59 per 1,000 in France,
     according to the latest available data from the World Health
     Organization (WHO).

     Earlier studies have indicated that laying babies to sleep on their
     stomachs heightens the risk of crib death, as do the use of duvets,
     wrapping infants too warmly and parental smoking.

     The study surveyed 73 Dutch babies who died of unexplained causes,
     comparing the data with a control group of 146.

     Parents in both groups were asked how they had prepared their children
     for the night and how they were found the next morning.

     Non-SIDS parents were far more likely to put their child to bed with a
     pacifier than parents who had lost their child, L'Hoir said.

     She said that while researchers were still unclear about why using a
     pacifier reduced SIDS, it was thought that pacifier-sucking children
     were less likely to change their sleeping position to lie nose and
     mouth down.

     ``Another explanation could be that babies who are given pacifiers
     learn very young to keep the breathing passage -- the nose -- open,''
     L'Hoir added.

     She said babies at least risk from SIDS were breast-fed infants,
     partly because mother's milk offered greater protection against
     infection.

     In addition the superior oral ability of breast-fed children was
     thought to play a role, she said.

     ``For this reason we would counsel pacifiers for bottle-fed babies,
     while breast-fed babies should only be given a pacifier when
     breast-feeding is well-established to prevent nipple confusion,''
     L'Hoir said.

     The Utrecht research forms part of a European-wide study into
     preventing crib death, the European Concerted Action on SIDS (ECAS).

     Results of the ECAS study are due to be published this spring in
     leading British-based medical journal The Lancet.

Can't wait to hear what you have to say about this!
Nancy Holtzman RN BSN MOM
Great Beginnings New Mothers Groups
Boston MA
617.323.9977
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