Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Pregnant moms should protect themselves from COVID

  • Avoid people who are sick or who have been exposed to the virus.
  • Clean your hands often using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily.

Risks to the pregnancy and to the baby

  • Pregnant moms have had a higher risk of severe illness when infected with viruses from the same family as COVID and other viral respiratory infections, such as influenza.
  • It is always important for pregnant people to protect themselves from illnesses.

Mother-to-child transmission

  • Mother-to-child transmission of corona virus during pregnancy is unlikely, but after birth a newborn is susceptible to person-to-person spread.
  • A very small number of babies have tested positive for the virus shortly after birth. However, it is unknown if these babies got the virus before or after birth.
  • The virus has not been detected in amniotic fluid, breast milk, or other maternal samples.

Breastfeeding if you have COVID

  • Breast milk provides protection against many illnesses and is the best source of nutrition for most infants.
  • You, along with your family and healthcare providers, should decide whether and how to start or continue breastfeeding.
  • In limited studies, COVID has not been detected in breast milk; however we do not know for sure whether mothers with COVID can spread the virus via breast milk.

If you are sick and choose to direct breastfeed

  • Wear a facemask and wash your hands before each feeding.
  • If the you are sick and choose to express breast milk:
  • Express breast milk to establish and maintain milk supply.
  • A dedicated breast pump should be provided.
  • Wash hands before touching any pump or bottle parts and before expressing breast milk.
  • Follow recommendations for proper pump cleaning after each use, cleaning all parts that come into contact with breast milk.
  • If possible, consider having someone who is well feed the expressed breast milk to the infant.

Snippet from: cdc.gov/Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

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