Breastmilk Shown To Be Potentially Beneficial Against COVID In Babies
When it comes to meeting your baby's nutritional needs, breast could be best. The colostrum you produce right in your own body is full of all kinds of amazing nutrients and antibodies that help your little one get a great start in life. Recently, however, many women have expressed concern about whether it's safe to breastfeed during a pandemic. The World Health Organization did look into this issue, and they didn't find much likelihood of the virus being transmitted through infected milk, so their recommendation is that it's safe for breastfeeding moms to keep on doing so. Even if moms are infected with COVID-19, it should still be okay to breastfeed, as long as necessary sanitary precautions such as mask-wearing and hand-washing are in place.
The latest news regarding breastfeeding, however, indicates that it is not only safe but may even help to protect babies against coronavirus. The latest issue of iScience published a study indicating that human breast milk may contain antibodies that can help protect babies against COVID-19.
Breastmilk may have antibodies that could stop the virus from spreading
The study, performed by physicians affiliated with the University of California – Merced and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, only involved milk samples from 15 previously COVID-infected donors. Of these samples, 80 percent (12) showed high levels of certain compounds capable of binding the virus. Although this was a very limited study involving only a small amount of subjects, these indications are very positive. In fact, The Scientist even indicates that breast milk may eventually provide the basis for a serum that could be used to treat patients suffering from the COVID virus.
If you're unable to breastfeed, though, don't feel bad. Beneficial though it may be, not every new mama is able to do it. Teddi Mellencamp shared her own sad story with fans last spring explaining that her post-breast surgery bod wasn't able to work that way. Not only breast augmentation, but any number of conditions might cause a woman's body not to be able to produce or deliver enough milk. There are also instances where the infants themselves have difficulties latching on. So there's certainly no mom-shaming meant whenever we're touting the virus-protecting (or any other) benefits of breastfeeding. If you can, you can. If you can't, that doesn't make you any less of an awesome mom, and you'll find other ways to keep your baby as safe and healthy as possible during this difficult time.