Some studies have suggested a protective effect of breastfeeding against SIDS, while others have not. By age six to nine months, he is more capable of defending himself against infection. For premature infants (those at highest risk for SIDS), this is a gradual learning process. Breastfeeding your baby reduces the risk of SIDS. is a literature review on the protective effect against SIDS of both breastfeeding and pacifier use. Do not drink alcohol or use illegal drugs during pregnancy. In this position, the breastfeeding pair has easier access to nursing at night. Also significant in this study was that the more breastmilk the babies received, the higher these children scored. Because she can make new antibodies better and more quickly than her tiny baby can, mother updates her baby’s immunity with every feeding. If you are breastfeeding, wait until breastfeeding is going well before offering a pacifier. Breastfeeding lowers the risk of SIDS. Researchers say the results suggest that the recommendation to breastfeed infants should be included with other SIDS risk-reduction information given to pregnant women. After birth, these antibodies gradually disappear. As we await the results of more research, we can continue to rely on common sense. A cost analysis by Bartick and Reinhold estimated that SIDS-related deaths cost the United States $10,560,000 a year. Read on. For premature infants (those at highest risk for SIDS), this is a gradual learning process. The risk of SIDS among exclusively breastfed infants was 73% lower. For infants who were breastfed at 2 months of age and older, the risk was 62% lower. Besides the good stuff in breastmilk and the act of breastfeeding itself with its increased “touch time,” the way an infant breastfeeds may also lower the risk of SIDS. This virus has been implicated in causing inflammation of the lungs that could contribute to SIDS. Yet without the hormonal boost that breastfeeding provides, bottle-feeding mothers have to work harder at developing this heightened awareness. Slings for Caregiving and Breastfeeding Baby, The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning, Baby Constipation: Stool-Softening Techniques. Visit your baby’s health care provider for regular checkups. The more stable the airway to breathing, the lower the risk of SIDS. The typical sleep patterns of breastfed babies might also offer some clues as to why breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS. These cannot be manufactured or bought; they can only be made by mother. Any exercise of the mouth and throat muscle is helpful in keeping the airways open. Feeding, dummies and SIDS. As a final perk, even if human milk goes down the wrong pipe and enters baby’s lungs, it does not irritate the lungs as much as formula can. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is less severe in breastfed infants than in infants fed artificial baby milks. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the baby’s first six months for a variety of health reasons, including reduced SIDs risk. Breastfeeding and dummy use have a protective effect on sudden infant death syndrome by Alm et al. Ways in which breastfeeding is thought to reduce the risk of SIDS: Breastfeeding boosts brain development, particularly for the central nervous system, which is essential to respiratory control during sleep. Breastfeeding May Help Protect Against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Researchers Say. Human milk contains substances (such as cholesterol, linolenic acid, and taurine) that enhance the development of the central nervous system. When my wife, Martha, breastfed our eight babies, she invariably put them to sleep on their backs or sides. Studies show that premature babies who breastfeed coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing more efficiently than do their bottle-feeding mates. If you do use a dummy, don't start until breastfeeding … Meanwhile, baby is making his own antibodies. This would be a group that is at high risk for SIDS. Although myelination continues well into early childhood, the greatest degree of myelination occurs during the first six months of life. For example, breastfed infants may be more easily aroused from sleep than formula-fed infants at 2-3 months of age, which is within the 2-4 months peak age of SIDS cases. Since tiny infants tend to have weak points in muscle support of their upper airways. In 2010, there were 6.15 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the US. The new study was published online today (June 13) in … This helps reduce the risk of SIDS. Position your baby carefully. It increases the sensitivity of a mother to any changes in her baby. Breastfeeding survival curves showed that both partial breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding were associated with a reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Besides reducing respiratory infections that clog baby’s air passages, breastfeeding also helps keep little airways open by not exposing them to the allergens in foreign milk. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – sometimes known as "cot death" – is the sudden, unexpected and unexplained death of an apparently healthy baby. Red Nose also supports parents who bottle feed their babies through the other five evidence-based strategies that they can use to reduce the risk of Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infancy. © 2005 - 2019 WebMD LLC. Besides the good stuff in breastmilk and the act of breastfeeding itself with its increased “touch time,” the way an infant breastfeeds may also lower the risk of SIDS. Publicity about bedsharing with an infant often raises concerns and warns parents against it. What Happens When Your Son Is Circumcised? Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old. Dr. Tonkin, a pathologist, speculated that the different muscle actions involved in bottle-feeding might contribute to the growth of larger tongues. Stuffy noses and airways and recurrent respiratory tract infections are frequent signs of allergies to artificial milk made from cow’s milk or bean milk (such as soy). However, scientific literature lacks uniformity in the definitions of breastfeeding (whether partial and exclusive). Breastfeeding survival curves showed that both partial breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding were associated with a reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome. These areas show changes that could be the result of delayed development and/or oxygen deprivation. Also, studies on experimental animals have shown that the introduction of water or cow’s milk into the upper trachea (the beginning of the airway) can lead to apnea. The results showed that for infants who received any breastmilk for any duration, the likelihood of SIDS was 60% lower. Whether it is the milk, the mother, or the method that is responsible for the lower SIDS risk in the breastfed infant is hard to tell. I suspect they can. Offer a pacifier at nap time and bedtime. Breastfeeding helps breathing in two ways: by helping the brain systems that control breathing to mature and by helping to keep tiny air passages open. Being exclusively breastfed in the last month of life/before the interview reduced the risk, as did being partially breastfed. Breastfeeding releases hormones which aid rest and relaxation in the nursing dyad and make mother and […] It's possible using a dummy at the start of a sleep also reduces the risk of SIDS. So vital are these brain builders that if a mother’s milk is short on these special nutrients, the mammary glands themselves make and deposit them into her milk. A new review of recent research studies shows that infants who were breastfed were about 60% less likely to die from SIDS than infants who didn't receive any breast milk. Hauck, F. Pediatrics, June 13, 2011; vol128. A new study has determined one monumental benefit of breastfeeding: it can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Breastfeeding rates in the United States are suboptimal, leading to higher healthcare expenditures, and more preventable infant mortality. Oftentimes, babies who succumb to SIDS have had a “minor infection” in the days before death. If you are not breastfeeding, you can start a pacifier as soon as you like. The study was an extensive one, looking at a total of 2267 SIDS cases and 6837 control infants, so the results of the study are significant. “Breastfeeding provides unmatched health benefits for babies and mothers. But they may not know that breastfeeding reduces baby’s risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The increased maternal hormones (primarily prolactin and oxytocin) that are stimulated by baby’s sucking appear to provide a biological basis for the concept of mother’s intuition. If bottle feeding, hold your baby at a 45-degree angle and never prop … One of the ways in which breastmilk protects the infection-vulnerable infant is through the intramammary immune system. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The following is what we know. The Breastfeed Your Baby to Reduce the Risk of SIDS (PDF 485 KB) handout helps explain the information in the videos.. Breastfeed Your Baby to Reduce the Risk of SIDS (Full Length/1:20) While six months of breastfeeding is recommended, only two months of breastfeeding is … Would it be presumptuous to call breastmilk a SIDS vaccine? When you put together all the benefits of breastfeeding, the good stuff in breastmilk, the special touch of breastfeeding, and the special actions of breast suckling, you have a compelling case that breastfeeding reduces SIDS and increases an infant’s chances of health and well-being. A breastfeeding mother also sleeps differently than her formula-feeding friends. In addition, breastfeeding delivers antibodies known as immunoglobulins that may help protect infants from infection during the period they are most at risk for … This recommendation is based on research that shows breastfeeding can reduce the risk of SIDS by 50 per cent. These special cells travel through her bloodstream to her breasts, where they announce the presence of the enemy germ. Newborns have to learn to coordinate breathing and swallowing during feeding. Between two and six months, when the antibodies derived prenatally from mother are at low levels and baby has not yet made enough of his own, the immunity factors in breastmilk fill in, taking over where the placenta left off and protecting the baby while his own immune system matures. Breastfeeding may reduce the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, a new study says.. SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs.Although the cause is unknown, it appears that SIDS might be associated with defects in the portion of an infant's brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep.Researchers have discovered some factors that might put babies at extra risk. Mothers don't have to breastfeed exclusively to get the benefit, either. 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