Breast Milk Cuts Infant Death Rate, Study Says

Breast-fed children in the United States are 20% less likely to die during the first year of life than whose who are not nursed, according to a study.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said they based their finding on a survey that included nearly 9,000 infant deaths in 48 states.

Aimin Chen, a physician who was one of the study’s authors, said in an interview that the protective effect appeared to come from the “package of child care skills” that goes along with nursing, as well as the milk’s benefits.

The study was published in the May edition of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.