Coronavirus and Breastfeeding: Is It Safe to Breastfeed If Infected?

The coronavirus pandemic, which has been keeping the world captive for the second year now, affects all aspects of life, even the natural process of breastfeeding a newborn. The disease chooses its victims, regardless of the importance of the ongoing processes in life. Even a woman who has just become a mother can contract the coronavirus. 

Then, the question becomes extremely relevant: can you breastfeed with COVID, especially while undergoing treatment with potent and potentially unsafe medications for the baby’s health? Additionally, it is important to consider the possibility of the risk of infecting the baby through breast milk if breastfeeding with COVID.

Is it safe to breastfeed with coronavirus?

The question of whether a mother infected with COVID-19 can breastfeed her newborn was researched by UNICEF and WHO specialists. Based on their findings, it was concluded that the role of breast milk in transmitting respiratory infections is negligible compared to the benefits of breastfeeding. There is no evidence of active virus presence in breast milk or its potential transmission through breast milk. The main dilemma is not whether the virus can be transmitted through the mother’s milk. 

The question is whether the virus can be transmitted from an infected mother through droplets, coughing, sneezing, or breathing while she continues to breastfeed with COVID. Therefore, to prevent COVID infection in the child, the mother must follow hand hygiene rules. Wearing a mask during close contact with the baby, including during breastfeeding, is essential.

Reasons Not to Wean an Infant During Illness

The treatment of coronavirus during breastfeeding is prescribed taking into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Health for this category of patients. If the course of the illness allows and the prescribed medications are safe for the baby, specialists do not recommend stopping breastfeeding. This is because maternal milk contains antibodies that boost children’s immunity and provide protection against infections. Breastfeeding strengthens mothers’ health and offers lifelong health benefits for children, significantly reducing the risk of death for newborns and infants.

Skin-to-skin contact with a newborn is very important immediately after birth, and breastfeeding is recommended to begin in the first hours of life. Even though a woman may need to treat a condition, breast milk remains the best food for her baby until six months, and every opportunity should be taken to continue breastfeeding.

How to Feed a Baby During Covid

The axiom that a baby and a mother diagnosed with “corona” during breastfeeding should be under the vigilant supervision of the attending physician and a pediatrician or neonatologist, who will monitor their health and provide timely recommendations, requires no additional emphasis. 

During the treatment of coronavirus while breastfeeding, specialists advise the mother to:

• regularly disinfect and clean surfaces;
• when coughing and sneezing, use a disposable tissue, then dispose of it, wipe hands with alcohol, or wash them with soap;
• wash hands with soap before contacting the child, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

During feeding, it is necessary to wear a medical mask and change it when it becomes damp, immediately dispose of the used mask. Avoid reusing the mask and touching its front part.

Mom has COVID: what to do?

If a mother is sick with “corona” and needs to treat coronavirus while breastfeeding, and the illness is so severe that she cannot breastfeed the baby in the usual way, she can replace breastfeeding with feeding expressed milk. It is necessary to express it by observing hygiene measures – keeping hands clean, staying with the baby only while wearing a mask, and keeping the utensils sterile. Family support during this period is very important. 

If the mother is feeling extremely unwell, someone else should take responsibility for feeding the baby. In cases of severe weakness where the mother cannot not only breastfeed with COVID but also express milk, it is necessary to consider options for using donor milk. The circle of people caring for the baby should be limited.

Everything must also be done to resume breastfeeding after recovery.

How to Properly Express Milk

Manual milk expression is usually performed, and a breast pump is used only if necessary. If a woman, feeling unwell, cannot breastfeed during COVID, manual expression and using a breast pump can be equally effective. The woman and those helping her feed the child should wash their hands before expressing or touching any parts of the breast pump or bottles, and properly clean the breast pump after each use. 

However, even outside the context of coronavirus, milk storage containers, breast pumps, and feeding utensils should be kept clean – after use, wash the breast pump and containers with dishwashing liquid, liquid soap, and warm water. After that, rinse all items under hot water for 10-15 seconds. Individual parts of breast pumps can be washed in the upper section of a dishwasher.

Nuances of Feeding with Expressed Milk

In the case of coronavirus treatment during breastfeeding, if there is a temporary need for feeding with expressed milk, it is preferable to:

• feed the baby from a clean cup and/or spoon, as they are easier to sanitize;
• have the feeding done by someone who has no symptoms of the illness and with whom the infant feels comfortable;
• ensure the caregiver thoroughly washes their hands before feeding the baby.

The pumping process is important for maintaining milk production so that, once recovered, the mother can breastfeed the baby. A woman can return to breastfeeding after coronavirus as soon as she feels better. There is no need to adhere to any recovery timelines.

How to Restore Breastfeeding

After treating coronavirus during breastfeeding, WHO and UNICEF recommend for relactation:

• frequently interact with the baby, including using breast massage and skin-to-skin contact to increase hormonal response that boosts lactation;
• ensure the baby regularly nurses from both the right and left breast – about 15 minutes each, at least 8-12 times a day on average, striving not to exclude nighttime feedings;
• ensure the baby is in the correct position during feeding for effective latching and to prevent nipple injury;
• if separated from the baby, perform breast massage and express milk up to 8-10 times a day;
• pay attention to how the baby’s stomach functions.

If you have questions about how to resume breastfeeding after recovering from COVID, it is necessary to seek advice from the pediatrician observing the baby.

How to Prevent Spreading COVID-19 to a Nursing Baby?

If the mother’s health condition, diagnosed with COVID or suspected of it, allows continued self-breastfeeding, the main recommendation from specialists is to strictly and thoroughly adhere to all hygiene requirements. Scientific research has confirmed the possibility and necessity of feeding the baby with mother’s milk for at least 6 months. 

By minimizing your child’s contact with outsiders and interacting with them only while wearing a mask and after thoroughly sanitizing your hands, a woman, even if infected with the coronavirus, has every chance of preserving her child’s health. Maintaining cleanliness at home and avoiding sneezing and coughing in their presence are additional measures that significantly reduce this possibility.