DIRECT ANSWER - NO
Corona virus knows no boundaries, it can infect people of any age group, any category. This has riaised concerns among the pregnant females and mothers of new born children about the risk of transmitting the virus in them to their child.
So far corona virus is known to spread only by 2 routes-
1. Droplet spread
2. Fomite spread (non living things infected with droplets of the patient)
So far no other routes of transmission has been found.
The various medical trials conducted in various parts of the world have shown no presence of corona virus(using RT-PCR) in breast milk. Meaning that direct transmission of corona virus through the breast milk from mother to the child is not possible. Also none of the babies who consumed breastmilk from their corona infected mothers got infected or even tested positive for corona virus (RT-PCR).
This eliminates breast milk as the source of transission from mother to child.
BUT
This does not eliminate other sources of infection, such as the hand contact, droplet transmission from mother's nasal or mouth discharge or even contact with infected cloth.
Hence WHO and CDC have issued several guidelines for corona suspected/infected mothers regarding breastfeeding.
1. Breastfeeding should never be skipped even if mother is a suspected/confirmed covid
patient.
Breast milk contains a lot of nutrients as well as anti bodies which are helpful in a child's general development as well as development of his/her immmunity. Hence breast milk directly or indirectly should be provided to the child.
2. Whether and how breastmilk should be provided is purely a mother's choice. It depends on the health of the mother and how correctly she can maintain the hygiene while breast feeding.
CARE TO BE TAKEN DURING BREAST FEEDING-
A mother who is suspected or confirmed covid-19 should be counselled to take all precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant.
1. She should take care of hand hygiene. Her hands and chest areas should be properly washed using soap and water for 20 seconds. If soap and water is unavailable then hand sanitiser containg minimum 70% alocohol must be used to clean. The clothes should be clean and not infected from droplet secreated from her nose or mouth.
If you think SANITIZER is as effective as SOAP and WATER?
You are partially wrong!
Check our why 👇
2. She should wear proper face mask. Her face nose and mouth should be covered with proper clean mask before and throught out the process of breastfeding.
Check out the link below to get instructions on proper ways of using a mask.
3. If the mother is ill and not able to regularly give direct breastfeeds, she can go for expressed breastmilk. Meaning she can express her breast milk and store it which can be used to feed the baby from time to time. Don't forget to clean and sanitise the bottle and vessels used to express the milk and feed the baby. The expressed milk should be fed by a caregiver who is extremely healthy with no sign and symptoms of covid.
4. In case the mother is severely ill, the she can explore the possibility of relactation (that is restarting breastfeeding after a gap); wet nursing (another women breastfeeding or caring for the child); donor milk.
What do u think, Can a Corona Positive patient still continue to spread CORONA VIRUS after his/her death?
Check out here !👇
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Remember- the inforamtion mentioned above is purely based on the medical records and data available. There might be changes in the conditions and exceptions as more and more medical datas and research start to gather up.
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