Is breastfeeding safe after getting coronavirus or COVID vaccine? What science shows

The pandemic has added more layers of concern for mothers and their newborns: Is it safe to breastfeed after being infected with COVID-19? What if you were recently vaccinated?

A study by researchers at the University of California -Los Angeles, published in the Pediatric Research Journal on Jan. 19, unearthed some potential good news for breastfeeding mothers after studying a group of 110 lactating women.

Researchers analyzed breast milk samples from 110 lactating women. Of the group, 65 women had a positive COVID-19 test, 9 had symptoms but tested negative, and 36 were symptomatic, but not tested.

SARS-CoV-2 vRNA was detected in the milk of seven women — 6% of the group who had a confirmed infection or symptomatic illness, according to the study.

However, the researchers reported, “We found no evidence that breast milk contains an infectious virus or that breastfeeding represents a risk factor for transmission of infection to infants.”

There have been few studies of the impacts of COVID-19 on breastfeeding so far, the study said, and it remains a significant area to investigate considering the gravity of COVID infection in infants, the commonality of breastfeeding in the early stages of life and science showing that other types of diseases are transmissible through breastfeeding, such as HIV and HTLV.

According to researchers, roughly half of all cases of COVID in young children are in infants. While most recover from the infection, there have been cases of severe illness and even death. Complications can occur even after a child appears to recover from COVID-19, a condition that has disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic/Latino children, according to the study.

While the study is the largest of its kind analyzing the presence of SARS-CoV-2 vRNA in breast milk, the researchers acknowledged some limitations within the study, including that participants were primarily non-Hispanic white women with a median age of 35.8 years.

Does breast milk contain COVID antibodies?

“Breast milk is an invaluable source of nutrition to infants and contains numerous antimicrobial factors, including neutralizing antibodies to viruses,” the study said. “Of note, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in the breast milk of recently infected lactating women.”

There is another way to pass down COVID antibodies from mother to child — an approach that has shown “significantly” higher antibody levels compared to natural infection, according to scientists: By getting vaccinated.

Should you get vaccinated while breastfeeding?

COVID antibodies in breast milk have also been detected in mothers who received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in March 2021. It also discussed the stronger presence of antibodies in women after vaccination, when compared to natural infection.

Antibodies were found in the umbilical cord blood and breast milk of every woman in the study, indicating that immunity to COVID could be passed onto a vaccinated mother to her baby, McClatchy News reported.

According to the study, antibody levels were higher among those who received second doses of the Moderna shot, compared to those after the Pfizer vaccine, McClatchy News reported.

“We now have clear evidence the COVID vaccines can induce immunity that will protect infants. We hope this study will catalyze vaccine developers to recognize the importance of studying pregnant and lactating individuals, and include them in trials,” Dr. Galit Alter, co-senior author of the study, said in a statement. “The potential for rational vaccine design to drive improved outcomes for mothers and infants is limitless, but developers must realize that pregnancy is a distinct immunological state, where two lives can be saved simultaneously with a powerful vaccine.”

When should you get a COVID vaccine if you’re pregnant? Here’s what a study found

According to the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 vaccination, including the booster shot, is recommended for people who are breastfeeding, although it does recognize that there may be limited data available on the impacts of vaccination on a breastfed baby, or the effects on milk production considering the original clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccinated did not include people who were breastfeeding.

The CDC adds that COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause a COVID infection in anyone, including a mother if she is vaccinated, or her baby, and recognizes the latest studies indicating people who have received COVID vaccines have antibodies in their breast milk, which could protect babies.

The CDC offers a need-to-know guide for those interested in learning more about pregnancy, breastfeeding and COVID vaccinations.

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