Maintaining Safe Breastfeeding Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview of the Evidence to Inform Clinical Guidelines

Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon the health care landscape has prompted many organizations to revise policies in response to ever-changing guidelines and recommendations regarding safe breastfeeding practices. The application of these professional guidelines into clinical practice is fraught with barriers, inconsistencies, and often-minimal evidential support. Key concerns for health care providers and patients include antenatal versus postnatal transmission, milk transmission, and separation care versus rooming-in, including the subsequent impacts upon breastfeeding and bonding. While SARS-CoV-2 is a novel virus, the volume of literature to support best practice for couplet care continues to be developed at a rapid pace. The benefits of breastfeeding are steeped in evidence and outweigh the potential risk of transmission of COVID-19 from mother to newborn. Health care organizations must continue to seek guidance for policy revision within the ever-growing body of evidence for best practice and evaluate current practices for feasibility during and after hospitalization.