Notes for breastfeeding women if they have Covid-19 and vaccines

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coronavirus transmission that causes Covid-19 disease through breast milk and breastfeeding has not been detected. Therefore, a mother should and needs to breastfeed her baby normally if she accidentally gets Covid-19.

Maintaining breastfeeding, especially during the first six months, helps provide nutrients and antibodies for the baby's development and helps improve the mother's health. There is no evidence that breastfeeding alters the clinical course of mothers with Covid-19.

According to WHO, right after birth, if a mother has Covid-19, she should still perform skin-to-skin contact with her baby immediately and continuously, including Kangaroo care, to improve body control, infant temperature. Placing an infant close to the mother also makes breastfeeding more accessible and quicker. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding fundamentally outweigh the possible risks of transmission and illness associated with Covid-19.

                               Measures that WHO advises pregnant or lactating women to follow

However, in the case of Covid-19, the mother needs to take the following measures to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to the child and people around:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially before touching children.

• Wear a medical mask whenever you come into contact with your baby, including while breastfeeding. The mask must be changed when it getting damp and immediately discarded in a covered trash can. Medical masks should not be reused or touched the front of the mask.

• Sneeze or cough into a tissue. Then discard the tissue immediately and rewash your hands.

• Regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that the mother has touched.

If the mother does not feel well enough to breastfeed her baby, she can express milk, go to a breast milk bank or use formula.

Regarding vaccination, according to WHO, breastfeeding women can be vaccinated against Covid-19. All currently approved vaccines do not use live viruses, so there is no risk of transmitting the virus to the baby through breast milk. Some evidence suggests that, after vaccination, antibodies are found in breast milk, which may help protect babies against Covid-19.

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Promoting breastfeeding and supporting women to take care of their newborns are also included in the training sessions, media, and leaflets distributed within the framework of the project "For mother and baby - For Vietnamese stature." implemented by For Vietnamese Stature  Foundation (VSF) since 2017 in industrial zones. This is a project of VSF's Health Care Program for Women of Reproductive Age to raise awareness and practice on nutrition, reproductive health, and mental health for women. in the reproductive age in general, and pregnant and lactating women in particular, for the future physical and intellectual development of children.