Dear Colleagues,
We have updated our special repository on Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, Breast Milk and COVID-19. Since our last update Wednesday 24 March 2021, we have added 23 NEW publications for March (21 new), and January (2 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 and vaccination issues)
- Infant feeding recommendations
- Feeding difficulties in newborns
While there were several recent reviews of international literature, this update also adds emerging evidence from Greece, the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, Argentina, France, Iran, and Poland.
More studies were published reporting on anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels breast milk at various time points after administration of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. One study reported that vaccine-induced immune responses detected in breast milk were stronger than those caused by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. Two studies evaluated COVID-19 vaccine willingness among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers across Europe, with one reporting specific reasons for hesitancy.
A study of prenatal and postpartum recommendations across 33 countries noted considerable inconsistencies across Southeast Asia regarding mother-infant separation and breastfeeding recommendations in the context of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Another study of newborn care practices across 24 hospitals in Brazil reports that the majority of hospitals prohibited mothers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 to have skin-to-skin contact and or initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of life; furthermore, most hospitals developed their own guidelines, which the authors attribute to regional socio-economic differences and lack of consistency across international guidelines.
Similarly, a survey of healthcare providers across 22 countries assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family-centered care for hospitalized infants. Another article described the adaptation of family-centered care practices at a Chinese neonatal ICU, reporting comparable breastfeeding rates at discharge compared to before the pandemic which the authors attribute to the success of newly implemented strategies.
This is by no means an exhaustive list! The next update for this specific repository will be on Wednesday, 21 April 2021. If you know anyone who would benefit from these updates, please let me know.
Happy reading!
Mija Ververs