Sugar-Free Gum May Reduce Preterm Birth Rates: Study

A large-scale study in Africa found a 30 percent reduction in very-low-birth-weight babies born to pregnant women who chewed xylitol-sweetened gum.

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Chewing xylitol gum may be able to prevent preterm birth.

A three-year study of more than 10,000 pregnant women in Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa, found that pregnant women who chewed sugar-free, xylitol-sweetened gum had a 24 percent reduction in the incidence of preterm birth compared to women who did not.