Well, I've been back on LactNet for only one day and already I can't help commenting on this thread. I was glad to see someone finally pointing out that perhaps, in fact, the mother DID suffocate the baby at the breast, if she had really large breasts, and/or if the baby was somehow compromised to begin with. It is also possible that the mother suffocated the baby on purpose. That might contribute to why the parents didn't want an autopsy. I know it isn't politically correct to say that parents might harm their children, but it is well-documented. Read the chilling article that came out in the same issue of Pediatrics in November or December of 1997 that included the new breastfeeding guildelines. It was about parents whose children had experience near-death episodes, and both kids and parents were being videotaped in the hospital without the parents' knowledge. They caught most of the parents actively trying to cause the child's death, or at minimum another near-death episode. If a baby dies under circumstances such as those outlined in the original post, an investigation, including an autopsy, needs to be done to make a differential diagnosis among: 1. Mother killed baby on purpose. 2. Mother killed baby accidentally during/via breastfeeding through poor positioning. 3. Baby had underlying heart defect or other reason for extended apnea. 4. Baby had something else the matter with it, such as a major chromosomal abnormality, tracheo-esophageal fistula, etc. that led breast milk to block the airways. In the absence of any investigation, I see no way to choose among these possible causes. I also haven't seen anyone comment on the one thing that stood out for me the most from the original post, and that was the 15 minute delay between when the mother asked for help from the nurse (to put the baby back in the bassinet) and when the nurse/midwife arrived at the bedside to find the baby not breathing. Why did it take so long? Was the mother having so much trouble putting the baby in the bassinet because the baby was limp because it was unconscious? Kathy Dettwyler _________________________________________________________________ Dream of owning a home? Find out how in the First-time Home Buying Guide. http://special.msn.com/home/firsthome.armx *********************************************** 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