-On Sunday 17 September, Karen Page writes:


>Co-sleeping... This was the only way I could keep on going .

  I understand the SIDS phamplets do not support the co -sleeping position
but it
>is the only thing, I think that got me thru my nursing days.

Karen -- Could you please explain this comment?  Is this pamphlet put out by
the U.S. Navy?  There is a *lot* of evidence that co-sleeping protects
babies from SIDS.  I am concerned if the U.S. Navy is producing a pamphlet
that contradicts recent research and even suggests that co-sleeping is a
risk factor for SIDS, as this is not true.  Please explain.


Re: spina bifida.  The term spina bifida refers to any opening of the bony
part of the vertebral column that normally encloses and protects the spinal
cord.  There is huge variation in the seriousness of the condition, and
therefore the proper treatment.  Many infants have surgery almost
immediately after birth, and many many people with spina bifida are able to
walk unaided (some limp).  The key factors are how high the defect is, the
amount of damage to the spinal cord before and during birth, and the extent
of the defect itself -- sometimes the bone is missing but the spinal cord
does not protrude and there is no opening (i.e., skin covers the defect),
ranging all the way to the interior of the spinal cord compartment being
open to the outside and protruding out of the body.  Until this baby is
actually born, it will be very difficult to predict the feasibility of
various nursing positions or the amount of time before the baby can be
picked up and held.  You have to protect any protruding spinal cord from
injury until surgery can provide protection.  Certainly the baby could
receive expressed breast milk by bottle, cup, or tube -- any route that ABM
can go into baby.  Also, if the mother is dedicated, has supportive
pediatricians, and a willing baby, I bet that she could figure out a way to
get her nipple into the baby's mouth even though the baby must lay flat.
The baby has to turn its head to one side or the other, and I am picturing
the baby laying on a hard flat surface and the mother laying on a gurney
next to the baby, head to foot as it were, with the baby's head at the level
of the mother's chest, and being able to maneuver her breast within the
reach of the baby's mouth.  I have myself nursed in a number of odd
positions -- like facing backwards in the car leaning over the baby in the
car seat.


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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