How often do people throw their pillows on the floor? Is this something I've missed? Granted, I've had pillows drop off the side. But even if they had really been babies they would've survived with a bump or two. Of course, if the cats came along and sucked the breath out of the baby/pillow, that would've been a different story (is this myth used in your part of the world?) I agree that these stories are the stuff of urban legend/myth. Too bad they are so seductive when someone wants to "prove" a point. The oft repeated (on Lactnet) admonition to "ask for the references" is worthwhile here. If there are bona fide stories they must be fewer than generally believed, and likely easy to poke holes in once the facts are known. A few years ago I had a lovely new mother sitting at my side crying her eyes out. Her neurologist had just told her that, since she had a history of epilepsy, she mustn't breastfeed her two week old baby. I had given this mother a sheaf of references; there was no medical or logical reason she could not continue the breastfeeding relationship she had started. "Well, if you keep this up don't come crying to me when you have a seizure and kill your baby by throwing him against the wall!" the doctor had replied when shown the information. And, since the doctor made it clear she considered breastfeeding to be an indication of patient non-compliance with treatment she suggested the patient not continue in her care. Guess how long this woman continued breastfeeding? (Hint: the neurologist, armed with urban mythology, "won"). Margery Wilson, IBCLC Cambridge, Massachusetts