Pacifiers at Night Reduce SIDS
--Read More In: Family | Signal
In the past, pacifier use has been found to reduce the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in studies at least as old as 1998, but never by quite this much. Past studies have estimated reduction rates near 50% or 61%.
The widespread caveat to the ~90% study is that it has a relatively small sample size, lower participation rate than other studies and possible underreporting. It measured just 185 families with 312 control subjects, all of them located in California.
One of the striking results of the Li KP/NIH study is that the benefits were consistent across all demographic lines where there is normally some variance in SIDS statistics.
The only apparent downsides to the use of pacifiers were some dental problems, ear infections, and issues with breast feeding.
The other main prevention measure showing marked results for SIDS reduction was to make sure the baby sleeps on its back.
SIDS is one of the leading causes of death for babies, resulting in ~2500 deaths per year in the US.
Dr. Li's theories implied that airway blockage of some type plays a role in SIDS.
Results of the study are published at: BMJ Journals.
Womenshealth.gov NIHCD NLM AAP SIDS-Network
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Posted by Will on 01/22/06 | Comments (0) | Email to a friend |
