I know, I know, we have discussed this "ad nauseum"...
BUT in the last meeting of the Public Health Nursing Staff I got hit in
the..[You know]... with a written by Thomas G. Keens, M.D., March 30, 1999,
Childrens' Hospital Los Angeles , University of Southern California. It
seems we are in the midst of a "catfight" between him and Dr. McKenna.
Luckily my boss pointed this out, rather than it coming from me...
He speaks about "chaotic bedsharing" "where an infant may share a bed,
which is soft, has multiple blankets or quilts, and may be associated with
cigarette smoke, drugs or alcohol.
He then describes dangerous bedsharing situations where the parents are
drunk, drugged, excessively fatigued, obese, or in water beds, overheating,
... In fact he describes situations where a child would be unsafe - no
matter what!
then he goes on to dismiss Dr. McKenna's studies - saying that it is the
baby that arouses the mother rather than the mother arouse the baby - which
would not be protective for the baby...
He concludes the paper by stating:
"Doctor McKenna has shown that infants who bed share are more likely to
breastfeed. However, even breastfeeding, by itself, has not been shown to
reduce the risk for SIDS. Therefore any potential benefits of bed sharing
with respect to SIDS remain only speculative. They have not been proven."
Our county has had more than its share of SIDS deaths this year, so the
Health Department is very sensitive to anything that may imply a risk. I
did point out that NONE of the deaths were with breastfeeding moms. But I
failed to point out that if it had been a case of "overlying" - wouldn't
the coroner identify "asphyxiation" and not SIDS as the cause of death?
What does anyone know of Dr. Keens?
Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC
Vacaville, CA
mailto:[log in to unmask]
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