>Until further evidence becomes available I do not believe that I can go on
>promoting breastfeeding as a protective factor for SIDS.

Check out Doren Fredrickson's study, reported in both his and in McKenna and
Bernshaw's chapter in Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives.  HIs study
found a 50% decrease in the risk of SIDS for every month of exclusive
breastfeeding.

There are many suspected causes of SIDS for which breastfeeding is known to
have a protective effect, including botulism, an immature brain, and deep
sleep cycles.

If any of you have read the latest Pediatrics article about how many parents
deliberately suffocate their children (captured on covert surveillance
cameras in a hospital) -- you would wonder how many true cases of SIDS there
are, and how many were deliberate killings.

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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html