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- Mothers infected with COVID-19 can breastfeed their babies safely
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- Keep babies safe from transmission of COVID-19
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Mothers who are positive for COVID-19 can continue to breastfeed their babies and not transmit the corona virus as long as they can take various precautions. How can you safely breastfeed your baby even if you are infected with COVID-19?
Mothers infected with COVID-19 can breastfeed their babies safely
A study published by The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health found that mothers with COVID-19 can safely breastfeed their babies without transmitting the virus. The study involved 120 newborns to mothers who were positive for COVID-19.
About three-quarters of pregnant women experience symptoms of COVID-19 from home and about half only experience symptoms during childbirth. In the hospital, mothers are allowed to be admitted to the same room with their babies. However, the baby must be kept in a crib which is 1.8 meters from the mother's bed.
Mothers are allowed to breastfeed their babies if they feel well enough or the symptoms of COVID-19 have subsided. But before that, mothers must wash their hands, wear masks, and wash their breasts before touching the baby.
All babies tested for COVID-19 in the first 24 hours after birth, none of which tested positive. After one week, 79 bali were retested and all were negative. Then two weeks later, 72 babies were tested a third time. As a result, none of them tested positive for COVID-19.
Researchers then conducted remote monitoring of 50 babies after they were one month old. As a result, the growth and development of the baby went without a hitch, both in mothers who were positive for COVID-19 with symptoms and positive without symptoms.
"We hope this research provides a little assurance to new mothers that their risk of transmitting COVID-19 to their babies tends to be low," said dr. Christine Salvatore, co-author of the study report. Dr. Salvatore is a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases Weill Cornell Medicine-New York Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital.
The authors say breastfeeding and direct physical contact between the mother and her newborn are very important for the long-term health of the child. These findings allow mothers infected with COVID-19 to continue breastfeeding and not lose these moments while carrying out health protocols.
However, they emphasized that the study was still relatively small in scale, so a larger study is needed to ensure the accuracy of the research results. In addition, you need supervision and consultation with a doctor first to ensure the safety of breastfeeding your little one directly.
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This research provides a new picture because previously several cases of positive COVID-19 babies were reported within 48 hours of birth. These babies are thought to have contracted COVID-19 from the mother's womb.
The latest findings about COVID-19 continue to grow, making medical personnel and the public have to keep adjusting. Guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women infected with COVID-19 also continue to change as scientists gain more knowledge about the dangers and modes of transmission of the corona virus.
At the start of the pandemic, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) originally recommended that mothers infected with COVID-19 be separated from newborns. The AAP also recommends that babies be breastfed in a bottle.
However, the AAP has updated their guidelines to say that COVID-19 positive mothers can share rooms and breastfeed with certain precautions. The precautionary measure in question is to use a mask during breastfeeding and to maintain hand hygiene and wash the breasts before breastfeeding.
In line with the AAP guidelines, the Association for Early Breastfeeding Mothers (AIMI-ASI) also recommends the same thing in its breastfeeding guidelines. The difference is, AIMI only recommends washing the breasts with soap and warm water for 20 seconds if you have a cough when the breast is open.
But it should be noted, the ability to breastfeed directly does not apply if the mother experiences severe symptoms of COVID-19.
