If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or currently lactating you may have a lot of questions regarding the safety of feeding your infant breastmilk while positive or presumed positive for Covid-19. You’re not alone. I was pregnant with baby brother at the beginning of this pandemic and I was so terrified of the unknown. This was prior to vaccinations and prior to much of data we have now. Nevertheless, the safety of your little kiddo is at stake. Kudos to you for doing everything you can to educate yourself!

Breastfeeding with Covid-19 is a safe practice and recommended. La Leche league, who is a pillar in the lactating community for more than 60 years, has indicated that the benefits of breastfeeding and skin to skin immediately after birth and beyond outweigh the potential risk of acquiring Covid-19. Here’s the important factor, you must wash your hands and wear a mask. Wash your hands before caring for the baby, with warm water + soap for at least 20 seconds and wear a good mask over your nose and mouth. The best masks are surgical and N95 so if possible, use those.

Those who become infected shortly before giving birth and then begin breastfeeding, and those who become infected while breastfeeding, will produce specific secretory IgA antibodies and many other critical immune factors in their milk to protect their nursing infants and enhance their infants’ own immune responses. At this time, these immunologic factors will aid their infants’ bodies to respond more effectively to exposure and infection - La Leche League

Think about it this way. Before you actually know that you have Covid-19, meaning you have symptoms, the baby likely has already been exposed to the virus. So, what is the point of stopping chestfeeding. The baby can receive any antibodies you are producing + you don’t have to worry about the effects that stopping feeding can have on your little one. Things like drop in milk supply or refusal of the chest.

Alright so you’re reading and thinking, you know I would rather isolate and pump. That’s completely ok too! Make sure you practice good hand hygiene when pumping and throughly wash your pump parts. Wear a mask while pumping. Make sure the caregiver feeding baby is not sick and have them practice hand hygiene and wear a mask as well.

If you do decide to isolate yourself from your newborn, it is safe to reunite after 10 days without symptoms + a negative test.

If you have specific questions about your case you can reach out to your lactation consultant or pediatrician. They are your resources and should be advisors whose opinions you can trust. Also, I would advise anyone pregnant or planning to become pregnant to educate themselves about their hospital/doctors practice for if you test positive for Covid-19 while laboring. It is not advised to separate parent and baby.

I hope you all stay safe, practice good hand hygiene, and wear your masks!

References

Continuing to nurse your baby through coronavirus (2019-ncov; COVID-19) and other respiratory infections. La Leche League International. (2020, August 5). Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.llli.org/coronavirus/

World Health Organization. (2020, June 23). Breastfeeding and covid-19. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/breastfeeding-and-covid-19