COVID-19: THERE IS NO HARM BREASTFEEDING YOUR BABIES- WHO TELLS INFECTED MOTHERS
The World Health Organization (WHO), on Friday, June 12, said new mothers infected with COVID-19 should continue breastfeeding their babies as the benefits outweighed the harm.
The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made this known during a virtual press conference.
Ghebreyesus said that Coronavirus- positive mothers who breastfeed are not at risk of transmitting the virus to their babies through their milk.
“We know that children are at relatively low-risk of COVID-19 but are at high risk of numerous other diseases and conditions that breastfeeding prevents,” he said.
The WHO boss said that the Agency had carefully investigated the risk of transmitting the disease onto their infant, and found out that mothers can breastfeed unless she is too ill to continue doing so.
“Based on the available evidence, WHO’s advice is that the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks of transmission of COVID-19,” he added.
He said that WHO had developed guidance report on self-care interventions to enable women to access services they need during the pandemic.
Women are encouraged to still touch their infants and are instructed by the WHO to “hold your newborn skin to skin,” even when positive for coronavirus.
The WHO also said that mothers should share a room with their newborns and exercise hygienic practices when breastfeeding and holding their infant, such as washing your hands for 20 seconds.
“Breastmilk contains antibodies and other immunological benefits that can help protect against respiratory diseases,” the WHO wrote in their report.
“The experience obtained so far shows that the disease course of COVID-19 generally is not severe in infants and young children,” the statement notes. “The main risk of transmission appears to come from the respiratory tract of an infected mother.”
Anshu Banerjee, the WHO’s senior advisor for reproductive health and research, at the briefing, said the live virus that causes COVID-19 had not been found in breast milk.
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