Breastfeeding and pumping breast milk during non-COVID-19 times could already be difficult. From stress about what to eat, how to boost your milk supply, to figuring out how to breast pump at work or in public, there is a lot to consider and evaluate. Throw in a global pandemic and how to navigate breastfeeding during COVID, keeping your baby safe and healthy during lockdown, it’s enough to make a grown person cry.
Note: During COVID-19, guidelines for breastfeeding may be changing due to new studies and information. Please check with your doctor, pediatrician, or lactation consultant to make sure you’re following the current health and safety protocols.
Is it safe to breastfeed my baby during COVID-19?
How to breastfeed safely if you become infected with COVID-19
According to WHO, the benefits of breastfeeding and parent-infant interaction — especially in inhibiting infection and fostering health and development — outweigh the risks of infecting your child with the coronavirus. If you are suspected or confirmed COVID-19 positive, you can still breastfeed when taking the appropriate measures to prevent contact transmission.
“Studies on women with COVID-19 the virus has not been detected in breast milk. The CDC recommends that a mother with flu continue breastfeeding or feeding expressed breast milk to her infant while taking precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant, a similar situation to COVID-19,” said Ritchie. “Both the CDC and WHO states that mothers with COVID-19 can breastfeed.”
Here are some best practices if you choose to breastfeed or pump milk for your child while protecting your child from the tiny droplets emitted when you talk, cough, or sneeze:
- Wash your hands thoroughly prior to and after touching your baby or using pumping equipment
- Sterilize pumping equipment after use.
- Use a mask or cloth over your mouth and nose when nursing or pumping.
- Consider having someone else in your household with a low risk for the coronavirus to bottle feed your baby expressed milk.
According to the CDC, there is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19. While all drugs pass through into breastmilk, most medications are safe to take while breastfeeding. The following (non-comprehensive) list is of some drugs that are deemed safe: acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), fluconazole (Diflucan), penicillin, loratadine (Claritin), and fexofenadine (Allegra). Please check the labels or consult with your doctor or pharmacists for a medical consultation.
Remember, you need rest regardless of whether you have COVID-19 or not. “An occasional formula bottle in the middle of the night from dad might have given my body the rest it needed to produce more when I could pump,” mom of two Sarah Doctolero told Mom.com. “I was so overtired and tense for so long I just wonder what might have changed if I were sleeping a little more.”
