Dear Barbara, Thanks for your post looking for articles on pacifier use and
SIDS as it forced me to review some conference materials that I have been
meaning to get to....The BSC conference last March in Atlanta was very
fortunate to have Dr. Peter Fleming from the UK as a guest speaker presenting
the results of his extensive study (6 yrs., 1500 infants) investigating SIDS
deaths. A sweet and unassuming man, his lectures were fascinating with much
attention to detail, as were his study designs. His findings ("Pacifier use
and morbidity in the first 6 months of Life" ,Pediatrics-3/99) related to
pacifier use and possible protection against SIDS were interesting but
somewhat difficult to decipher particulary in terms of the formulation of a
statement; does it protect or not?  His own conclusion imparts the need for
further research before such a statement is made but does provide some great
insight suggesting that non nutritive sucking (NNS) could offer protection
against SIDS  by suggesting that it maintains infant arousal, and increases
mom's attentiveness during the night, but also suggests that if the NNS does
protect,  in certain cases: such as with room sharing or non room sharing(but
not bed sharing) it may not and may actually predispose an infant to SIDS d/t
the loss of the thumb sucking or digit sucking reflex as if often the case
with pacifier users. Thus the baby, hypothetically, will have lost the
ability to arouse himself by NNS.
At any rate the conclusions to be drawn are not as easy as they first appear.
Below is the research that he sites as suggesting a protective benefit of NNS
over SIDS,
Pickler etal,"Effects of Nonnutritive sucking on behavioral organization and
feeding performance...." Nursing Research., 1996
Mitchell et al, "Dummies and the SIDS",Arch Dis Child. 1993
Fleming etal, "Environment of infants during sleep and the risk of SIDS" Br
Med J., 1996
I would be happy to provide you with more detail regarding the conference
materials, feel free to email me privately. Interestingly enough some of his
data regarding the use of pacifiers and it's effect on breast feeding does
not suggest a negative link....
Good Luck with your effort to inform, fortunately the process helps to inform
us all as well!

Lynn Shea Rn,Bsn,Ibclc
Franklin, Massachusetts, suffering through tooo many days of cloudy, 40
degree weather!

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