Breast Milk Feeding of Infants at Birth Among People With Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy: SET-NET, 5

Elizabeth L Lewis1, Ashley N Smoots1, Kate R Woodworth1

  • 1Elizabeth L. Lewis, Ashley N. Smoots, Kate R. Woodworth, Emily O'Malley Olsen, Nicole M. Roth, Aron J. Hall, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Cria Perrine, Jason Hsia, Sascha Ellington, Van T. Tong, and Suzanne M. Gilboa are with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Response, Atlanta, GA. Mahsa Yazdy and Hanna Shephard are with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston. Lindsey Sizemore and Heather Wingate are with the Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville. Paula Dzimira and Bethany Reynolds are with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pittsburgh. Mamie Lush is with the Division of Public Health, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Lincoln. Erika L. Fuchs is with the Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, Atlanta, GA. Kristen Ojo and Sam Siebman are with the Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul.

Objectives. To describe prevalence of breast milk feeding among people with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy and examine associations between breast milk feeding, timing of maternal infection before delivery, and rooming-in status during delivery hospitalization. Methods. We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee of whether people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy in 2020 initiated breast milk feeding at birth. Results. Among 11 114 (weighted number) people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, 86.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 82.4%, 87.6%) initiated breast milk feeding during birth hospitalization. People with infection within 14 days before delivery had significantly lower prevalence of breast milk feeding (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.83, 0.94) than did those with infection at least 14 days before delivery. When stratified by rooming-in status, the association between timing of infection and breast milk feeding remained only among infants who did not room in with their mother (APR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.68, 0.88). Conclusions. Pregnant and postpartum people with SARS-CoV-2 infection should have access to lactation support and be advised about the importance of breast milk feeding and how to safely feed their infants in the same room. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S8):S787-S796. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307023).