A new study has found that birth weight and breastfeeding both have implications for children's health decades later.
According to the research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, young adults who were breastfed for three months or more as babies have a significantly lower risk of chronic inflammation associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Molly W. Metzger, co-author of the study with Thomas W. McDade, PhD, of Northwestern University, said that these findings underscore the importance of a preventive approach, including but not limited to prenatal health care and postnatal breastfeeding support
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.