COVID AND BREASTFEEDING 

Breastfeeding is still optimal nutrition for your little one, and confers a lot of protection against various illness.  We still recommend breastfeeding even if a mother is positive for COVID-19 as spread of the virus from breastfeeding mothers to babies is demonstrated to be low.  Because COVID-19 is spread via respiratory droplets, it’s important that if a mother has respiratory symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and runny nose that she wear a mask if possible when close to the baby, as during breastfeeding, to avoid spread. If a mother is expressing milk for her baby, follow good hand hygiene and proper washing and disinfecting techniques of all pump parts and bottles. 

The good news is that ongoing data shows that the virus causing COVID-19 is not transmitted via breastmilk.  And there is a lot of good data showing that the COVID vaccine is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and that antibodies against COVID-19 are transmitted in utero and via breastfeeding after vaccination.

The antibodies transmitted via breastmilk are called IgA. These stay in the infant’s GI tract and don’t enter their blood stream. They get broken down by the infant’s digestion, so the more often the baby is breastfeeding, the more protection they have. This is why there is probably limited protection for older children that might get occasional breastmilk (say, once a day).

Here are some great resources about the COVID vaccine and breastfeeding:

https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding

https://abm.memberclicks.net/abm-statement-considerations-for-covid-19-vaccination-in-lactation 

Dr. Amy Maddalenais the Medical Director of our Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh.