Monday, March 30, 2020
Greetings from Molly-Registered Nurse and Lactation Counselor with Women’s Health Specialists.
Just a reminder that we at Women’s Health Specialists are here to assist you in meeting your breastfeeding goals.
At this time there have been questions regarding breastfeeding with COVID-19 – perhaps you are a person with symptoms, a person with a known exposure, or someone waiting for test results…Our physicians are monitoring current CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) guidelines carefully.
There are still many unknowns about how COVID-19 is spread. Person to person spread is thought to mainly occur via respiratory droplets. In limited studies of COVID-19 and another Coronavirus SARS; the virus has not been detected in breast milk. The CDC has no specific guidelines for breastfeeding during infections with COVID-19 and SARS due to the limited studies.
With so many unknowns about COVID-19, whether or not to start or continue breastfeeding should be determined by the mother in coordination with her family and healthcare providers with the most current information available. A mother with confirmed COVID-19 or who is a symptomatic person should take all possible precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant, including hand washing before touching the infant and wearing a mask while feeding at the breast if you choose to continue to use breast milk. If expressing breast milk with a pump, wash hands before touching any part of the pump or its parts. Follow recommendations for proper cleaning of the pump and pump parts after each use. If possible, consider having someone who is well feed the expressed breast milk to the infant.
Women’s Health Specialists will make every attempt to keep you updated. New information and guidelines are being received daily. If you have any specific questions please do not hesitate to call us at (920) 749-4000.
Stay well,
Molly RN BSN, IBCLC