Coronavirus infection and breastfeeding
The main epidemiological characteristic of COVID-19 is its rapid transmission in the community, a property that appears to be associated with the complete lack of immunity.
Therefore, it is expected that it is transmitted to all groups of the population, creating additional problems and questions.
The infection acquires particular importance during pregnancy and, after childbirth, during the breastfeeding period.
In the first case, any transplacental transfer of the virus (vertical transmission from the pregnant woman to the fetus) is of critical importance, a situation that would be associated with congenital disease of the newborn (fetal disease), similar to what occurs with other infections during pregnancy (rubella, chickenpox, Zika virus).
Fortunately, such transmission has not been observed, as was established by the absence of the virus in samples of amniotic fluid, blood from the umbilical cord and pharyngeal swabs of the newborn, vaginal secretions of the mother and breast milk.
In the case of postpartum illness, the problems that arise focus on the nosology of the sick mother and the infection of the nursing newborn/infant through breast milk.
The opinions expressed are conflicting, personal and not based on objective scientific data. Specifically, according to researchers from the Chongqing University Hospital of China, in a recent article published in the prestigious scientific journal ‘Maternal and Child Nutrition’ – views that are supported in parallel by the Union of European Societies of Neonatology and Perinatal Medicine: if the mother is asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic during childbirth, then the mother can be in the same room with the newborn (rooming-in) and even breastfeed it directly, of course taking the relevant preventive measures.
However, in the case where the mother is weakened and cannot care for the newborn, she should be separated from it and her milk should be collected with a breast pump and administered.
It is emphasized that the WHO Global Health Organization strongly supports breastfeeding directly or the administration of breast milk, in any case, through a breast pump.
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