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Surprising Science

Wean Not

A study says that the lives of 900 American babies -- as well as $13 billion -- could be saved each year if their mothers simply continued to breastfeed them through their first six months of life.

A new study in the journal Pediatrics says that the lives of 900 babies in the U.S. (as well as $13 billion) could be saved each year if their mothers simply continued to breastfeed them through their first six months of life. The study found that a variety of deaths and illnesses among children — including stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia — could be prevented by the infection-fighting antibodies in breast milk.


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