I'll do my best to explain this... if any of you want more information or clarification I can explain further.

Formula fed babies have a different gut flora to breastfed babies. It is a proven fact that formula fed babies are more likely to have lower amounts of protective benefical bacteria and higher amounts of potential pathogenic bacteria in their guts.

When certain pathogenic bacteria reproduce or die, they shed highly toxic endotoxins. If the filtering organs like the kidneys and liver are not at 100% for whatever reason (vaccines affect those organs), they are unable to deal with the endotoxins properly. Sometimes those filtering organs shut down completely. Then the endotoxins get into the blood and theres endotoxic shock which closely resembles SIDS. The result is an excess of serotonin and deep sleep! (groundbreaking research? Its been around for AGES and they're just making this connection now with serotonin and SIDS?) All the vital organs just shut down, the baby dies.

There are also other crucial nutritional imbalances and bioavailably issues with formula which puts a formula fed baby's metabolism and biochemistry under more stress than that of a breastfed baby. Metabolic rates and body temperatures in sleeping formula fed babies are higher since formula puts the body under a lot of physiological stress. Doctors have known about this for years!

The researcher that pointed this out also warned about unnecessary antibiotics for ear infections that are not bacterial in origin and prophylatic antibiotics where there is no infection present because antibiotics destroy all bacteria indiscriminately. A massive die-off of pathogenic bacteria releases A LOT of endotoxins into your gut. Some babies can't handle it all, and babies with history of health problems or family history of health problems are even more suspectible.

You also have to remember that the filtering organs of a newborn are immature and not as able as a fully functioning adult's.

Cot sleeping means babies sleep alone when they are biologically designed to sleep with their mothers. We are the only mammals it would seem, that sleep alone. I don't think I know of any animal young that do not sleep with their mothers. Biologically, our heartbeat, our body warmth, our breathing and our movement in the night regulates our babies and helps to protect them until they develop properly.

We really fail to nurture mothers and babies in our society.
I don't think Janet meant that in an offensive way. Don't you think it is true that western society on a whole isn't very supportive of mothers and babies? How many mothers get the support that they need to look after themselves while caring for newborns and trying to recover from their births? How many babies are seperated from their mothers at birth? A lot of us are told that babies are manipilative little creatures, they cry to get us to do what they want us to do etc and that we need to remain strong and not 'cave in' to them. We are conditioned to ignore our very basic mothering instincts, we aren't supported to trust ourselves or our babies. Mothering is one of the most important jobs, yet we aren't paid for it and we are expected to be 'super mums' and stay on top of everything else in our life while mothering.

References listed below since we can't link here.

Olsen, E. 1949. Studies on the Intestinal Flora of Infants. Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard.

Dubos, R. et al. 1963. "Alteration and effects of the intestinal flora". Ped Proc, Nov/Dec: 22: 1322-1329

Miller MJ et al. 1990 "Casein: a milk protein with diverse biologic consequences" Proc Soc Exp Biol Med, Nov; 195(2): 143-59. PMID: 2236098

Ansher, S. et al. 1992. "Role of Endotoxin in Alterations of Hepatic Drug Metabolism by Diptheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Pertussis vaccine adsorbed" Infection and Immunity, Sept: 60(9): 3790-8 PMID: 1500188

Caps, R.B. 1955. "Hepatitis in infants and small children". Amer J Dis Child, Vol. 89: 701-716

Sids is a terrible tragedy to happen to any family and blaming it on simple factors as not BF, cot sleeping etc are not helping to solve the problem and may in fact make some mothers feel like they are not safe guarding their babies enough.
Yes it is a terrible tradegy This isn't about blaming it on one or two reasons, it is about building a bigger picture of what is going on within the bodies of newborns when they are exposed to standards that are not biological standards ie, what their bodies were designed to biologically expect and need. Information is power, understanding why something happens or how something works isn't about blaming mothers or making them feel guilty. We all do the best we can given what we are told and what we know and we all love our children very dearly.