Breastfeeding Protects Against SIDS

Mom Topics - Breastfeeding

User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains the leading cause of death in the first year of life in the developed world. Around 50 babies in every 100,000 die each year in the US from SIDS. The risk of death from SIDS is greatest between the ages of one month and four months though babies as young as one week and old as two years have died from SIDS. New research from Germany may provide parents with an additional tool in the fight to protect babies from unexpected sleep related death.

Background

In the last twenty years research has identified a number of risk factors in SIDS including smoking during pregnancy and in the presence of an infant, stomach sleeping and excess clothing and bedding.  An understanding of the role these risks play and their ability to be modifiable have informed SIDS awareness campaigns across the developed world, changing the way in which parents care for their babies.  Until recently the role breastfeeding plays in protecting infants against SIDS hasn’t clear and in many countries has not been included in standard information given to parents.

The 2005 Policy Statement on SIDS by the American Paediatric Association (AMA) states:

“the task force believes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend breastfeeding as a strategy to reduce SIDS.” (1)

The problem to date in the eyes of the AMA has been the conflicting results from a number of studies and the contamination of variables leading them to believe it is associated behaviours (such as note smoking when breastfeeding) rather than breastfeeding which protects from SIDS.

New Study

A German study published in Pediatrics in March this year adds more weight to the argument that breastfeeding does have a protective role in relation to SIDS.

Dr Vennemann and colleagues at the University of Munster and University of Auckland found the rates of exclusive and partial breastfeeding were consistently lower in babies who had died from SIDS. Breastfeeding halved the risk of death from SIDS in all age brackets throughout infancy.  Exclusive breastfeeding was the best protection, though partial breastfeeding also offered benefits. The exclusive use of formula was found to be associated with death from SIDS when all other variables were accounted for giving the clearest evidence to date that breastfeeding does have protective benefits.

The researchers state:

“This large study conducted after the major reduction in SIDS mortality adds to the body of evidence showing that breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS, and that this protection continues as long as the infant is breastfed. In our study, 73% of the infants died before 6 months of age. The implication of our findings is that breastfeeding should be continued until the infant is 6 months of age and the risk of SIDS is low.” (2)

Reasons Why Breastfeeding May Guard Against SIDS

The study suggests breastfeeding may have a protective role in the case sudden infant death syndrome for two reasons.

1. Immune boosting properties

One theory suggests death occurs due to an uncontrolled inflammatory reaction to toxins from cigarette smoke and bacteria, such as Golden Staph. The by-products from these toxins are known to cause respiratory and cardiac dysfunction, fever, shock, low blood sugar levels and arousal defects.

The peak age for SIDS deaths (2-4months) coincides with low levels of immunity to these byproducts. Breast milk boosts the amount of protective antibodies in a baby’s system at a time when they are unable to produce enough of their own. Breastfeeding provides an immunological arsenal to babies from these toxic byproducts not available to formula fed babies.<

2. Sleep
Successive studies have shown breast fed babies are more easily woken than formula feed babies. Research from Monash University in 2004 found breastfeed babies were more easily woken from active (REM) sleep, noted in babies as a time when breathing and heart rate is irregular, than formula feed babies.

The Monash study published in the Archives of Childhood Disease states:

"This study results support breast-feeding of infants during the critical risk period for SIDS, as reduced arousal, particularly in active sleep, could impair the ability of an infant to respond appropriately to a life-threatening situation."(3)

In Conclusion

Given the results and methodological strength of Dr Venneman and colleague’s study it is hoped the AMA adopts a less conservative stance when it next reviews its policy statement, endorsing breastfeeding as another way of reducing the incidence of SIDS. Until then, it is up to us to spread the word that breastfeeding, like back sleeping, has the potential to protect against death from SIDS.

References

1. The Changing Concept of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Diagnostic Coding Shifts, Controversies Regarding the Sleeping Environment, and New Variables to Consider in Reducing Risk
2. Does Breastfeeding Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
3. Breastfeeding May Protect Against SIDS

Jodi Cleghorn is a Brisbane mother, writer, lactivist and natural birth advocate. When she's not writing breastfeeding articles she is working on her fiction stories including a new novella and a fledgling publishing project Chinese Whisperings. Her new blog Writing in Black and White chronicles her journey as a writer, editor and publisher. This week she is back at the computer recharged after a week's holiday in the Bunya Mountains.

| More...