Dummies Can Reduce Cot Death Risk

Researchers concluded that giving baby a dummy during sleep may reduce cot death risk or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as much as 90 percents.

Dummies usually have a bulky external handle, that could make sure that air reaches the nose or mouth when the baby’s face is buried by bedclothes. Besides, sucking on a dummy will help to develop the nerves that control the upper airway and may reduce impact of other risk factors for SIDS.

The findings reinforce recommendations made recently by the American Academy of Pediatrics that pacifiers be used at nap and bedtimes in the first year of life.

In the latest study, published today in the British Medical Journal, Dr. De-Kun Li and his colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, in collaboration with researchers at the US National Institutes of Health, interviewed 185 mothers who had just lost their infants to SIDS and 312 mothers whose babies were developing normally.

But previous studies found that using dummy may rise the risk of suffering earache, colic, wheezing, diarrhoea, fever; and tend to have crooked teeth and a baby will have slow speech development.

Well, there will always be pros and cons to a study. In this case, maybe giving dummy to a baby during sleep is a good solution to help reducing the risk of SIDS, but sucking on a dummy too often may not bring more beneficial effects to the baby itself. That's just my thought. We'll see further development of this study.

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