A study from Germany has found a reduction of 50% in the risk of SIDS for breastfed babies. Past studies have also found a lower SIDS rate among breastfed babies, but the finding was lower - 36% in one study.
Medscape reports:
"This study shows that breastfeeding reduced the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by ~50% at all ages throughout infancy," the study authors write. "We recommend including the advice to breastfeed through 6 months of age in sudden infant death syndrome risk-reduction messages."
"...Because breastfeeding rates are low in the socially deprived sections of our population, there should be special programs to encourage mothers of low socioeconomic status to breastfeed their infants not only for the established benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and infant but also to reduce the risk of SIDS in their infants."
Curious how breastfeeding and SIDS risk are related? Dr. Sears has a good piece entitled "8 Reasons Breastfeeding Reduces SIDS."
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