From the outset, the WHO recommended maintaining breastfeeding in mothers suspected or infected with COVID, due to its immune properties and its innumerable benefits for the baby.
Now, after reviewing the main studies carried out so far with women with coronavirus who are breastfeeding, he reaffirms his recommendation, because he considers that the coronavirus is a “much lower” threat to the survival of babies than infections against which breast milk protects.
Remember that the WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and complementary to feeding up to two years.
No evidence of transmission through milk
In the document Breastfeeding and Covid-19 (Breastfeeding and Covid-19), published yesterday, he reviews the main research that has been carried out so far on the subject. In them, it has been found that most children do not contract the infection through breastfeeding, and of the few who tested positive for Covid-19, the route of transmission of the disease could not be demonstrated.
“Children have a low risk of contracting Covid-19 and, among the confirmed cases, most have suffered from the disease in a mild or asymptomatic way, the same as occurs with other coronaviruses such as MERS or SARS-CoV,” he says. the United Nations agency in the document.
Therefore, the WHO concludes that there is insufficient data to ensure that the virus is transmitted through breastfeeding , so it recommends its practice because it improves the health of babies, their development and their survival.
Also skin-to-skin contact
WHO also recommends that mother and baby should be allowed to stay together during accommodation during the day and night and to practice skin-to-skin contact , including kangaroo mother care, especially immediately after birth and during birth. establishment of lactation, whether they or their babies have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
In infants, the risk of COVID-19 infection is low, while the consequences of not breastfeeding and the separation between mother and child can be significant.
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