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Breastfeeding key in HIV study

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

HIV-positive women who breastfeed exclusively are less than half as likely to transmit the virus to their babies as women who use a mixture of breastfeeding and formula, South African researchers reported Friday in the medical journal Lancet.

Exclusive breastfeeding ordinarily protects the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, which thereby presents a more effective barrier to HIV, they said. It also is associated with fewer breast problems that can cause an increased viral load in breast milk.

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