Breastfeeding provides a protective hug and the benefits have outweighed the risks during the COVID-19 pandemic

Despina D Briana1, Ariadne Malamitsi-Puchner1

  • 1Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, 3rd Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Mothers have been very hesitant about breastfeeding when they have COVID-19 infection or vaccinations. Maternal milk protects neonates through its high biological value, immune factors and anti-infectious molecules and this review shows that the virus that causes COVID-19 is not transmitted through breast milk. COVID-19 vaccines induce anti-spike antibodies with neutralising capacity, and phagocytosis, and no vaccine particles or messenger ribonucleic acid have been detected in breast milk. Most drugs used for maternal COVID-19 infections are safe for breastfed infants. CONCLUSION: The clear benefits of breastfeeding by far outweigh the very low risk of infant infections from COVID-19.

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