Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Fri, 28 Oct 2005 12:55:23 EDT |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
Here is the letter to the editor that I just sent regarding the article on
pacifiers in yesterday's Boston Globe.
Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA
-----------------------
To the Editor:
It is true that there is a lower incidence of SIDS among breastfed babies.
However, giving a baby a pacifier at night does not necessarily protect the
infant from SIDS, as implied by the American Academy of Pediatrics new
recommendations on the prevention of SIDS (A controversy boils about baby's binky,"
Oct 27). The nature of the studies upon which this recommendation is based
does not warrant the blanket statement that all babies be given a pacifier.
Pacifiers were associated with SIDS in babies who were dependent upon pacifiers
to regulate their breathing and arousal patterns - the pacifier was lost from
the mouth or not given to the baby on the night SIDS occurred. These were not
prospective studies conducted with a group who received a pacifier and a
group that did not. Breastfed babies already rouse more frequently during the
night so giving them pacifiers would not confer an advantage for a behavior
that already exists. Formula-fed babies sleep more deeply and do not rouse in
the same manner as breastfed infants. This is why when such a baby is routinely
given a pacifier and becomes dependent on it to regulate breathing and
arousal from sleep, the loss of the pacifier at night is what places the baby at
risk. The question in my mind is if all babies are given pacifiers, will it
create dependency in some babies where none existed before and place a
sub-population of infants at risk when not given a pacifier? The studies did not take
into account if parents were using any of the sleep training programs that
condition a baby to sleep deeply through the night during the time period of
highest SIDS risk.
Pacifiers are also frequently recalled (311,000 in 2005), mainly because
they separate and pose a choking hazard. Parents should be informed of this and
be directed to the website of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to check
for recalled pacifiers. Pacifier use increases the incidence of ear
infections, gastrointestinal disease, candida (thrush), and early breastfeeding
problems. Some pacifiers are made of latex which pose an allergy hazard. The
differences in the shapes of pacifiers are most significant to babies, as any
parent will tell you after buying $50 worth of pacifiers until they find one the
baby will accept. The pacifier recommendation is very significant to
manufacturers too. With 4 million babies born each year, "requiring" several
pacifiers at over $2 apiece, there is a bundle of money to be made.
Please check the statement from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition at
_www.massbfc.org_ (http://www.massbfc.org/) . Also, the Academy of
Breastfeeding Medicine's statement is at _www.bfmed.org_ (http://www.bfmed.org/) .
Their web address was incorrect in the article.
***********************************************
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
|
|
|