Coronavirus and breastfeeding: Lactating mothers improbable of transferring the virus to infants with the correct welfare approach.

According to a printed survey in ‘The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health’ with the application of correct welfare measures, Covid19 positive mothers cannot infect their infants.  Clinicians are yet to report any case or cases mother to child viral infection amongst the 120 infants birthed by 116 Covid19 positive mothers even though mothers wet-nursed their infants and also shared the same room.  However, safety measures were put in place; infants' cots were covered and kept 6 feet away from their mothers excluding the time for breastfeeding; at this time, mothers were demanded to put on nose masks, accompanied by correct breast and hand washing methods.

The Presbyterian children's hospital disclosed research that studied mothers and their infants at 3 New York City hospitals from 22^nd March to 17^th May.   All the infants contained in the research were screened for the Coronavirus using a nostril swab twenty-four hours from birth. After which supplementary evaluation was also done. Out of the 120, 82 finished the supplementary evaluation within five days to one week after birth; out of which 68 infants shared a room with their mothers, and 64 of them were still breastfed.  At five days to one week, 79 infants were screened again and 72 were screened fourteen days after birth.

The team at Weill Cornell Medicine-New York Presbyterian children's hospital disclosed that not one of all the screenings came out positive, and neither did any of the infants manifest any signs of Covid-19.

Nevertheless, the clinicians observed that urine, blood, and fecal screening for Covid-19 were yet to be authorized at the time of the research.  Meaning that peradventure the infant was infected from the womb, its detection might not be possible through a nostril swab screening. The declaration of mothers about their breast and hand hygiene along with the use of the nose mask was also relied upon by the clinicians.  

Furthermore, about one-third of the families never came back for continuance; the trepidation of accidental contact with the virus in between the home and the hospital might have been the cause of non-continuance according to the clinicians. The clinicians observed that further research is compulsory before conclusive submissions can be arrived at.