In just one week, four babies less than 10 days old have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the Cáceres health area. This has been warned by the Breastfeeding Committee of that area, which has specified that the infections have occurred during visits to newborns at home, after delivery.
Although fortunately, none of the babies show symptoms of COVID, experts remind us of the importance of avoiding social gatherings at this time , but especially when it comes to visiting a new mother and her baby.
All four babies are asymptomatic positive
According to El Periódico de Extremadura, four babies infected with coronavirus have been hospitalized over seven days, although all four are asymptomatic.
Their mothers have also tested positive , and although three of them are asymptomatic, the other has had to be admitted to the hospital and is expressing her milk to be able to give it to her baby, who also remains hospitalized.
Dr. María Jesús García, head of the Pediatrics service of the Hospital de San Pedro de Alcántara (Cáceres) and president of the Committee on Lactation Matter of the Cáceres health area, has reported that the infections have occurred in the family environment , after that mothers were discharged after delivery.
Remember that by health protocol, when a woman goes to the hospital to give birth, she must undergo a PCR test, which in the case of these four mothers was negative. In addition, visits to the hospital after childbirth are prohibited, so that the contagion of mothers occurred later, and they in turn transmitted it to their babies.
The Cáceres Breastfeeding Committee has warned of this fact on its Facebook page, and asks to restrict visits to the newborn ; very especially at these times when COVID and bronchiolitis coexist, one of the respiratory diseases that causes more hospital admissions in babies.
In less than a week several cases of mothers and newborns with COVID infection around 10 days of life …
Posted by Lactation Committee of the Cáceres Health Area on Thursday, November 5, 2020
Limit visits to the newborn as much as possible
The arrival of a baby into the world is always a reason for joy, and it is normal that both family and friends want to meet him and congratulate the new parents.
But pediatricians have long insisted on the importance of leaving mother and baby alone during the first days after delivery, not only to help breastfeeding to be established without interference, but also so that the two get to know each other little by little. little and at his own pace, and adapting to the new family structure.
Experts have also insisted ad nauseam not to visit the baby if he is sick , not to touch or hold him without asking the parents for permission and having previously washed his hands, and of course not to kiss him, especially on the mouth or near the lips .
But although at this time, with COVID circulating, it is more insistent than ever to take extreme precautions and restrict as much as possible (or better yet, avoid) visits after childbirth, the reality is that this recommendation should always be kept in mind ; both the baby’s parents, as well as family and friends.
It is necessary to put the health and well-being of the newborn before our desire to meet or introduce him ; and in this sense it is recommended to wait as long as possible. But if we still decide to visit a baby, it is important to do so by taking all the necessary preventive measures (use of a mask, social distance, hand washing, not visiting if there are symptoms, is in quarantine or has been in close contact with a positive) and always acting in such a way that our visit contributes and benefits the new parents.
Photo | iStock
Via | The newspaper
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