Study: Dioxin pollution may explain why as many as 6 million women can't breast-feed their babies. Learn how to avoid dioxins in your diet.
The health benefits of breast-feeding are many -- everything from lower obesity rates to lower rates of asthma have been attributed to breast-feeding and other good nutritional habits early in life. For mothers, breast-feeding can actually lower the risk of heart disease, according to one recent study.
But as many as 6 million mothers worldwide are unable to either initiate breast-feeding or produce enough milk, leaving them and their children without the option of the most natural, nutritious diet available for the first months of life.
A new study suggests a novel, and disturbing reason why some mothers have trouble breast-feeding: dioxin pollution inhibits the normal growth of breasts during pregnancy.