tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Am J Perinatol
. 2021 Jun 28.
doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1731451. Online ahead of print.
Breast Milk and Breastfeeding of Infants Born to SARS-CoV-2 Positive Mothers: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study
Bgee Kunjumon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elena V Wachtel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Rishi Lumba[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michelle Quan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Juan Remon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Moi Louie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sourabh Verma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael A Moffat[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Insaf Kouba[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Terri-Ann Bennett[SUP] 3 2 [/SUP], Claudia Manzano De Mejia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Pradeep V Mally[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xinhua Lin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Nazeeh Hanna[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objective: There are limited published data on the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus from mothers to newborns through breastfeeding or from breast milk. The World Health Organization released guidelines encouraging mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to breastfeed as the benefits of breastfeeding outweighs the possible risk of transmission. The objective of this study was to determine if SARS-CoV-2 was present in the breast milk of lactating mothers who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab test prior to delivery, and the clinical outcomes for their newborns.
Study design: This was a single-center, observational, prospective cohort study. Maternal-newborn dyads that delivered at New York University Langone Hospital Brooklyn with confirmed maternal SARS-CoV-2 positive screen test at the time of admission were recruited for the study. Breast milk samples were collected during postpartum hospitalization and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genes N1 and N2 by two-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the clinical characteristics of the maternal newborn dyad, results of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 testing, and neonatal follow-up data were collected.
Results: A total of 19 mothers were included in the study and their infants who were all fed breast milk. Breast milk samples from 18 mothers tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, and 1 was positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The infant who ingested the breast milk that tested positive had a negative nasopharyngeal test for SARS-CoV-2, and had a benign clinical course. There was no evidence of significant clinical infection during the hospital stay or from outpatient neonatal follow-up data for all the infants included in this study.
Conclusion: In a small cohort of SARS-CoV-2 positive lactating mothers giving birth at our institution, most of their breast milk samples (95%) contained no detectable virus, and there was no evidence of COVID-19 infection in their breast milk-fed neonates.
Key points: · Breast milk may rarely contain detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA and was not detected in asymptomatic mothers.. · Breast milk with detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA from a symptomatic mother had no clinical significance for her infant.. · Breast feeding with appropriate infection control instructions appears to be safe in mother with COVID infection..
. 2021 Jun 28.
doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1731451. Online ahead of print.
Breast Milk and Breastfeeding of Infants Born to SARS-CoV-2 Positive Mothers: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study
Bgee Kunjumon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elena V Wachtel[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Rishi Lumba[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michelle Quan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Juan Remon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Moi Louie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sourabh Verma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael A Moffat[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Insaf Kouba[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Terri-Ann Bennett[SUP] 3 2 [/SUP], Claudia Manzano De Mejia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Pradeep V Mally[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xinhua Lin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Nazeeh Hanna[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34182576
- DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1731451
Abstract
Objective: There are limited published data on the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus from mothers to newborns through breastfeeding or from breast milk. The World Health Organization released guidelines encouraging mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to breastfeed as the benefits of breastfeeding outweighs the possible risk of transmission. The objective of this study was to determine if SARS-CoV-2 was present in the breast milk of lactating mothers who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab test prior to delivery, and the clinical outcomes for their newborns.
Study design: This was a single-center, observational, prospective cohort study. Maternal-newborn dyads that delivered at New York University Langone Hospital Brooklyn with confirmed maternal SARS-CoV-2 positive screen test at the time of admission were recruited for the study. Breast milk samples were collected during postpartum hospitalization and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genes N1 and N2 by two-step reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the clinical characteristics of the maternal newborn dyad, results of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 testing, and neonatal follow-up data were collected.
Results: A total of 19 mothers were included in the study and their infants who were all fed breast milk. Breast milk samples from 18 mothers tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, and 1 was positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The infant who ingested the breast milk that tested positive had a negative nasopharyngeal test for SARS-CoV-2, and had a benign clinical course. There was no evidence of significant clinical infection during the hospital stay or from outpatient neonatal follow-up data for all the infants included in this study.
Conclusion: In a small cohort of SARS-CoV-2 positive lactating mothers giving birth at our institution, most of their breast milk samples (95%) contained no detectable virus, and there was no evidence of COVID-19 infection in their breast milk-fed neonates.
Key points: · Breast milk may rarely contain detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA and was not detected in asymptomatic mothers.. · Breast milk with detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA from a symptomatic mother had no clinical significance for her infant.. · Breast feeding with appropriate infection control instructions appears to be safe in mother with COVID infection..