NEW Updates on Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, Breast Milk and COVID-19 – excerpts from scientific journal articles – 23 October 2020
Dear Colleagues,
We have updated our special repository on Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, Breast Milk and COVID-19. Since our last update Friday 9 October 2020, we have added 20 NEW publications
Click below to view the updated repository
(http://hopkinshumanitarianhealth.org/empower/advocacy/covid-19/covid-19-...)
All publications provide emerging evidence related to COVID-19 and
* Breastfeeding and breast milk
* Infant feeding recommendations
* Feeding difficulties in newborns
Three review articles published in the last week, including two systematic reviews, evaluated the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from mother to infant.
One systematic review of 36 articles determined that in the 6 studies that specifically tested milk samples, there was no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk (Han et al., 2020). Another review of 176 cases of neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections found that 70% of neonatal infections were due to environmental transmission, and direct breastfeeding practices did not increase the risk of late-onset neonatal infection (after the first 72 hours of life) (Raschetti et al., 2020).
Three correspondences in the Lancet published in the last two weeks concern the safety of breast milk from mothers with COVID-19. Two articles debate the viral viability of SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk but agree that based on current evidence, the harms of breastfeeding cessation outweigh the unknown risks of transmission (Groß et al., 2020; Shenker et al., 2020).
Another article warns that misleading messaging from the infant formula industry actively contradicts international public health guidance and may lead to increased infant mortality by undermining breastfeeding in times of global food insecurity (Tulleken et al., 2020).
The next update for this specific repository will be on Friday 6 November, 2020. If you know anyone who would benefit from these updates, please let me know.
Happy reading!
Mija Ververs
Mija-tesse VERVERS
Emergency Response and Recovery Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta
Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore
USA (+1) 443-707-9769 email: mververs@cdc.gov<mailto:mververs@cdc.gov> and mververs@jhu.edu<mailto:mververs@jhu.edu>
CHIFA profile: CHIFA profile: Mija Tesse Cora Ververs is a Health Scientist (CDC), Senior Associate (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, United States. mververs AT jhu.edu
