NEW Updates on Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, Breast Milk and COVID-19 – excerpts from scientific journal articles – 4 December 2020
Dear Colleagues,
Today 4 December we updated our special repository on Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, Breast Milk and COVID-19. Since our last update Friday 20 November 2020, we have added 17 NEW publications for November (9 new), October (4 new), September (2 new), July (1 new), and June (1 new).
Click here to view the updated repository
All publications provide emerging evidence related to COVID-19 and
Breastfeeding and breast milk (including viral transmission issues)
Infant feeding recommendations
Feeding difficulties in newborns
While there were several recent reviews of international literature, this update also adds emerging evidence from India, Indonesia, Italy, China, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Topics in this update include hospital policies that support breastfeeding in the context of COVID-19, and recommendations for mothers with COVID-19 who wish to breastfeed their infants. While one article discussed the impact of changing breastfeeding recommendations on maternal stress, another explored the possible relationship between exclusive breastfeeding practices and reduced postpartum depression symptoms during COVID-19 lockdown.
Other studies evaluated breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in Indonesia and Italy, along with food insecurity exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns, trade restrictions, and disrupted humanitarian aid in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. One article emphasizes the importance of promoting and supporting breastfeeding of infants aged 0-23 months in order to prevent the anticipated increases in malnutrition caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Others caution that vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 cannot be definitively demonstrated or ruled out in the absence of testing breast milk, cord blood, placenta, and amniotic fluid. Other publications argue that maternal immunity transferred through breast milk is the best protection in the absence of COVID-19 vaccines that have been proven safe for infants.
The next update for this specific repository will be on Friday 18 December, 2020. If you know anyone who would benefit from these updates, please let me know and send me an email mververs@cdc.gov or mververs@jhu.edu .
Happy reading!
Mija Ververs