Interesting article on SIDS

This is a really good article on SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and how one doctor prevented it 100%. The following article clearly shows what the doctor did and how administering small doses of vitamin C amongst other things really worked. He gives all the statistics and background work, very good read.

www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/199x/hattersley-jg-j_orthomol_med-1993-v8-n4-p229.htm

www.cqs.com/sids.htm (there is a print-out version for distribution at the end of the article)

In many SID babies examined, an observer found evidence of repetitive apneic (non-breathing) episodes leading to hypoxia during their short lives. Hypoxia, often combined with minimal viral infection, could occur before, during and after birth. But vitamin C deficiency could easily explain hypoxia (inadequate oxygenation of the blood), except during birth, as well as the inflammation that can causean inadequate oxygenation of the blood. Enough ascorbate (vitamin C) should generate H₂O₂ to prevent hypoxia. Excess secretion of mucus in the larynx, found in some SID babies, could also result from ascorbate (vitmain C) deficiency.

Also interesting is the fact a lot of baby formula's contain iron. An excess of iron apparently not only weakens the immune system, but provides an environment for bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells to thrive. The article states that iron is pushed into the baby’s liver in the 3rd trimester, and that healthly, full term babies excrete 10x more iron than they absorb in the first week of life. Iron levels continue to decrease to 7 months, at which point the baby gets solid food and the gut limits iron intake to only the needs of the body. This is all done naturally through the bodies of the mother and baby and via breastmilk for the purpose of preventing infection.

High concentrations of E. coli ( cf. 3.4) were found at autopsy in many SID babies and not in healthy babies. ^{7, 22} Organ damage caused by such infections should be detected at autopsy, seeming to exclude this as the immediate cause of SID. But the bacteria hinder nutrient absorption and so worsen tissue ascorbate (vitamin C) deficiency, making sudden death more likely by either scurvy or atherosclerosis, or both (see below). Vitamin C deficiency also promotes excessive clotting.

Giving supplemental iron during lactation, or formula “with iron,” can precipitate one avoidable form of SID. Suppose a baby contracts botulism (Clostridium botulinum). If it lives on its mother’s milk alone botulism develops slowly, the baby can be brought to the hospital and treated successfully. If the baby gets formula “with iron,” botulism strikes like lightning. In 69 botulism cases, 39 had been breast-fed and 30 formula-fed. The ten who died were all formula babies getting added iron.

So in this case it would appear that low iron actually helps the baby's survivability.

Other factors in SIDS:

- cigarrette smoke (before birth through the umbilical cord; after birth, inhaled and/or through breastmilk.)

- aspirin, which hinders absorption of Vitamins C and B6

- toxic offgassing from a newly furnished baby room, or general air pollution

- processed foods and margarine in the mother’s diet

- microwaves and microwaved food (mother and/or baby’s)

- immaturity of the brain stem, resulting in a sudden stoppage of breathing (this happens even more frequently in premies and the most common solution is to rub the baby vigorously to stimulate him, but one must be near the baby to react in time).

SIDs occurs only in industrialized societies, where it is the leading cause of death in the first year of life. It is unknown in populations consuming largely vegetarian diets, living in nontoxified environments, not taking aspirins, and not given vaccinations. (Also, in populations where I assume the mothers breastfeed and cosleep with their babies.)