Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jun;26(3):234-241.
doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2022.03.010. Epub 2022 May 9.

Literature Review of Mothers Diagnosed With COVID-19 and the Impact on Breastfeeding Their Newborns

Stacey A Warner, Jessica L Arevalo
Review

Literature Review of Mothers Diagnosed With COVID-19 and the Impact on Breastfeeding Their Newborns

Stacey A Warner et al. Nurs Womens Health. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

In early 2020, newborns were separated from their mothers who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the current evidence to determine if the transmission of COVID-19 infection to the neonate increases if newborns are directly breastfed by mothers who are positive for COVID-19 infection. There were 28 studies conducted in seven countries, with 10 of those studies conducted in the United States. In total, 5,123 neonates were born to mothers diagnosed with COVID-19, with 3,872 neonates determined to have been breastfed or provided mixed feeding including breast milk. Overall, 2.35% (91/3,872) of the newborns tested positive, and all recovered from COVID-19 infection. As frontline health care providers, nurses are instrumental in offering support and education on the risks and benefits of breastfeeding for individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; breast milk; breastfeeding; coronavirus; mask; mothers; newborns.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Photo © Jacek_Sopotnicki / istockphoto.com
Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow Diagram for the Literature Search
None
Photo © Prostock-Studio / istockphoto.com
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine . 2020, March 10. ABM statement on coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)https://www.bfmed.org/abm-statement-coronavirus
    1. Amatya S., Corr T.E., Gandhi C.K., Glass K.M., Kresch M.J., Mujsce D.J.…Kaiser J.R. Management of newborns exposed to mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Journal of Perinatology. 2020;40(7):987–996. doi: 10.1038/s41372-020-0695-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . 2021, December 21. Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy is key to saving lives, medical experts urge.https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2021/12/covid-19-vaccination-dur... Retrieved January 22, 2022, from.
    1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . ACOG; 2022, January 26. Coronavirus (COVID-19), pregnancy, and breastfeeding: A message for patients.https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-a... Retrieved January 30, 2022, from.
    1. Anand P., Yadav A., Debata P., Bachani S., Gupta N., Gera R. Clinical profile, viral load, management and outcome of neonates born to COVID 19 positive mothers: A tertiary care centre experience from India. European Journal of Pediatrics. 2021;180(2):547–559. doi: 10.1007/s00431-020-03800-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed