SIDS

Human infants are not made to be alone. Their vital functions need human company to keep on track and the need for frequent feeding necessitates the constant proximity of their mothers as source of food. Yet, almost everywhere in the industrialized world parents are advise to leave their children alone to sleep. Isn’t it strange to put a child in a cot to prevent *cot*death?  Despite the sometimes aggressive information campaigns to not co-sleep parents do take their children in their beds, but not always in a safe way. If implicated safely, co-sleeping is not risk-increasing; it increases breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a major protective factor for SIDS. As far ago as 1993 Ford et al found a significant reduction in SIDS in breastfed children, as compared to formula fed children, even after correcting for confounding factors. These results were repeated by the German GeSID Study Group (Vonnemean et al 2009). They found that children who were not breastfed had a doubled risk of dying of SIDS and they strongly recommend to prominently include breastfeeding as a preventive measure for SIDS.
McKenna JJ, McDade T: Why babies should never sleep alone: A review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding. Paediatric respiratory reviews, 2005, 6(2):134-152
Ford RPK, Taylor BJ, Mitchell EA, Enright SA, Stewart AW, Becroft DMO, Scragg R, Hassall IB, Barry DMJ, Allen EM, Roberts AP: Breastfeeding and the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Int. J. Epidemiol. (1993) 22(5):885-890
Vennemann MM, Bajanowski T, Brinkmann B, Jorch G, Yucesan K, Sauerland C, Mitchell EA en de GeSID Study Group: Does Breastfeeding Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? Pediatrics 2009 123: e406-e410