Can I Breastfeed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Disease?

COVID-19 has not yet been detected in breast milk, but the Centers for Disease Control cannot confirm for sure whether mothers can spread the disease to their nursing children.

“In limited studies on women with COVID-19 and another coronavirus infection, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), the virus has not been detected in breast milk; however, we do not know whether mothers with COVID-19 can transmit the virus via breast milk,” states the CDC.

Many other viruses, including Influenza, can be passed from mother to child via breastfeeding, according to Olivia Mayer, a clinical dietitian at a children’s hospital in Northern California and a clinical advisory board member at Lansinoh Laboratories. “Not only in the breastmilk itself, but also through respiratory secretions and droplets, as well as direct contact with mom’s skin.”

Breastfeeding is known to provide benefits to babies to help protect them from certain viruses and bacteria. “A major benefit of breastmilk is mom’s ability to make antibodies to the specific virus or illness she has and through her milk, pass on those exact same antibodies to her baby so that the baby can build an immune response, too,” says Mayer who is also a certified lactation counselor.

Mayer advises nursing mothers to “keep directly breastfeeding” as much as they are able. If, or when, a woman is pumping, she suggests the following guidelines:

• Wash your hands before assembling your pump parts, and wash them again immediately after you’ve finished your pumping session.
• After pumping, wash the parts with warm, soapy water, rinse, and air dry
• Follow the CDC recommendations to properly clean and sanitize all pump parts and bottles.
• Wipe down the pump itself with an all-purpose cleaner or wipe, without getting the pump too wet.  Allow to air dry
• If you are sick and it is possible, let someone healthy (or at least, healthier) feed the baby with a bottle
• Stay hydrated

In addition, if a mother and newborn share the same room and the mother wishes to nurse the child, the CDC recommends that she should put on a face mask and practice advised hand hygiene procedures before each feeding.

For sick mothers with newborns, the main focus should be on getting better, suggests Mayer. “A healthy mom is most important. If that means she can’t breastfeed or doesn’t have the strength to pump at that time and/or she needs to isolate herself to minimize risk of transmission to her baby and other family members, that is what she has to do to get herself better.”

Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 is spread, so Mayer recommends that sick mothers or mothers-to-be discuss their particular situation with a licensed health care provider or a lactation professional.