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Over 800,000 children a year can be saved with improved breastfeeding
29.01.2016 08:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Over 820,000 children globally, the vast majority of them infants under 6 months, could be saved with improved breastfeeding practices. Thats the finding of a series of papers released by The Lancet magazine (compiled with the help of experts from the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), UN Radio reports.
As to the report, The Lancet series indicates that nearly half of all instances of diarrhoea and a third of respiratory infections, the two leading causes of death among children under the age of five, could be prevented through increased breastfeeding.
The study says the lifesaving benefits extend to children in developed and developing countries alike, according to the study. Breastfeeding lowers child mortality in high income countries and is associated with a 36% reduction in sudden infant deaths.
The study admits a child who breastfeeds for longer also has a reduced risk of becoming overweight or obese later in life.
The Lancet series also shows that the practice has important health benefits for mothers; each year a woman breastfeeds her risk of developing invasive breast cancer is reduced by 6%.
Reportedly, the UNICEF calls breastfeeding «the most natural, cost effective, environmentally sound and readily available way we know» to give children the healthiest start in life.
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