Breastfeeding in COVID times: Dos and Don’ts


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Breastfeeding in COVID times: Dos and Don’ts

Breastfeeding in COVID times: Dos and Don’ts
With the governments across the world, fearing the onset of another Covid wave, young mothers are still not sure whether to go ahead with breastfeeding their babies for fear of transferring the virus to their newborns. However, all national and international bodies unanimously recommend that irrespective of a person’s Covid status, all mothers and babies should be put in immediate skin to skin contact after birth. Breastfeeding should be initiated at the earliest and exclusive breastfeeding should be practised for the first six months of a baby’s life.
In addition, mothers who are Covid positive should wear a mask, maintain proper hand hygiene and all surfaces that are frequently touched should be meticulously cleaned.

The rationale behind these recommendations is that the data till now clearly shows that coronavirus does not get transmitted via breastmilk. When a lady who is breastfeeding gets infected by coronavirus, her body starts producing disease-fighting chemicals (antibodies) which are also secreted in breastmilk, thus providing the baby with readymade medicine against coronavirus. And breastmilk is the normal food of a human baby which helps in building up a baby’s immunity. Breastfeeding is health for life. We know that the immune status of a person is a big factor in his or her fight against coronavirus infection, so the logical conclusion here is to breastfeed.
Some frequently asked questions in this context are:

Q. I am corona positive, and I just delivered a baby, what should I do?

A. Keep your baby close to you, breastfeed on demand and wear a well-fitted mask, maintain proper hand hygiene, keep regularly sanitising surfaces that you touch

Q. I am corona positive can someone else give my breastmilk to my baby, if I pump it out and give it to them?

Yes, but first consider 2 things-
Ensure that the other person is negative, maybe he or she is asymptomatic but still corona positive. So be sure of the health status of the person giving milk to your child.
Breastfeeding is a lot more than just food. It is the development of a bond, it is warmth, security, love and aids proper development of your baby’s face, jaws and teeth. So, if you are able to directly breastfeed, do that.

Q. What happens if a COVID positive mother is sick and cannot feed the baby directly?

She should be helped with expressing her milk regularly and send it to the baby. As soon as she is able to, direct breastfeeding should be initiated.

Q I am facing challenges breastfeeding, how can I exclusively breastfeed?

Reach out to any experienced lactation consultant in your area. A trained and skilled lactation support person should be able to help you through this either via an in-person consult or via a video consult.
If you are COVID positive and quarantined, you can do a video consult.

Q. I was Covid positive when I delivered and I did not feed my baby, now my baby is a few weeks old, and I feel my milk has dried up, can I get my milk supply back? Will it help my baby if I breastfeed him?

Yes, and yes. Even if you did not feed the baby initially, with a proper plan, patience and effort, you can build up your milk supply and each drop of breastmilk counts so any amount of breastmilk is beneficial. Look up for an experienced Lactation Consultant who can help you with this.

Q. What are the recommendations for those who are pregnant/ yet to deliver?

Attend an “online pregnancy breastfeeding class”, run by someone experienced
Make sure that you stay at home/ stay safe
Talk to your doctor in advance about immediate skin to skin contact and earliest initiation of breastfeeding, whatever your Covid status might be
Read recommendations by various health organisations such as WHO /Association of Lactation Professionals India /BPNI
Read in-person accounts of people who were Covid positive and breastfed

Once your baby comes, breastfeed. Seek breastfeeding help at the earliest if you are facing challenges. The majority of experienced Lactation Consultants are equally effective even via virtual consults.

The article has been authored by Dr Shacchee Baweja, Lactation Consultant, Centre For Child Health, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital

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