Breast-Fed Infants Are Easily Aroused From Active Sleep at 2 to 3 Months of Age NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 16 - Breast-fed infants are more easily aroused from active sleep at 2 to 3 months of age than those who are formula-fed, according to a new study. The findings could have implications for the prevention of SIDS, say the authors. "Arousal from sleep is believed to be an important survival mechanism that may be impaired in victims of SIDS," Dr. R. S. C. Horne and colleagues from Monash University, Victoria, Australia, note. "Previously it has been shown that arousability is impaired by the major risk factors for SIDS such as prone sleeping and maternal smoking." In a study published in the January issue of the Archives of Diseases in Childhood, the researchers examined whether arousability was altered by the method of feeding, and whether infants who are breast-fed have lower arousal thresholds. The team used polysmonography to study 43 healthy term infants at 2 to 4 weeks post-term, 2 to 3 months post-term, and 5 to 6 months post-term. While infants slept supine, nasal air jet stimulation was applied to induce arousal in both active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS). The team calculated multiple measurements of arousal threshold across each sleep state. They compared arousal thresholds and sleep period lengths between formula-fed and breast-fed infants at each age. No differences in arousal thresholds were observed between breast-fed and formula-fed infants in QS. However, breast-fed infants were significantly more arousable than formula-fed infants in AS at 2 to 3 months of age (p < 0.01). The investigators found no significant differences in arousability between males and females in either sleep state at any age studied. When sleep period length was compared, there were no differences found between breast- fed and formula-fed infants. "However, at 5 to 6 months of age, breast-fed infants had significantly longer sleep cycles (p < 0.01)," Dr. Horne and colleagues write. "This study supports breast feeding of infants during the critical risk period for SIDS (2-4 months) as reduced arousal, particularly in AS, could impair the ability of an infant to respond appropriately to a life threatening situation," they conclude. Arch Dis Child 2004;89:22-25. *********************************************** 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