April 20, 2020

Breastfeeding of Infants Born to Mothers with COVID-19: A Rapid Review

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• Yang et al conduct a systematic review of case reports and series involving a total of 16 mothers with COVID-19 and 42 mothers with influenza to investigate mother-to-child transmission of SARS-Cov-2 during breastfeeding and conclude that current evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 viral nucleic acid has not been detected in breast milk. 
• Based on these findings, the benefits of breastfeeding may outweigh the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in infants, however mothers with COVID-19 should take appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of transmission via droplets and close contact during breastfeeding. 

Yang et al. (Apr 19, 2020). Breastfeeding of Infants Born to Mothers with COVID-19: A Rapid Review. Pre-print downloaded Apr 20 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.13.20064378