GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has declared that the newly infected COVID-19 mothers should generally continue breastfeeding their babies.
According to the WHO, the mothers should not be separated from their babies. The organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a virtual press conference in Geneva said that there is a low risks of women transmitting the new coronavirus to their babies when breastfeeding.
“We know that children are at relatively low-risk of Covid-19, but are at high risk of numerous other diseases and conditions that breastfeeding prevents,” he said.
“Based on the available evidence, WHO’s advice is that the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks of transmission of Covid-19,” he added.
WHO’s a senior advisor for reproductive health and research Anshu Banerjee said, “So far, the live virus that causes Covid-19 had not been found in breast milk.”
“Mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be encouraged to initiate and continue breastfeeding and not be separated from their infants unless the mother is too unwell,” Tedros said.
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