Al-Kuraishy Hayder M, Al-Gareeb Ali I, Atanu Francis O, El-Zamkan Mona A, Diab Hassan M, Ahmed Ahmed S, Al-Maiahy Thabat J, Obaidullah Ahmad J, Alshehri Sultan, Ghoniem Mohammed M, Batiha Gaber E
Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine, College of Medicine, AL-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria.
Front Pediatr. 2021 Dec 9;9:738263. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.738263. eCollection 2021.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recent epidemic disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome virus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In pregnancy, SARS-Cov-2 infection creates additional alarm due to concerns regarding the potential for transmission from the mother to the baby during both the antenatal and postpartum times. In general, breastfeeding is seldom disallowed because of infection of the mother. However, there are few exceptions with regards to certain infectious organisms with established transmission evidence from mother to infant and the link of infection of a newborn with significant morbidity and mortality. It is confirmed that pregnant women can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, although the debate on the possible vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is still open. In this regard, the literature is still poor. On the contrary, the information on the safety of breastfeeding even during infections seems reassuring when the mother takes the necessary precautions. However, there are still answered questions regarding the precautions to be taken during breastfeeding by COVID-19 patients. This paper reviews the existing answers to these and many other questions. This review therefore presents a summary of the present-day understanding of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and discusses the answers around the maternal transmission of COVID-19 and the potential threat of breastfeeding to babies born to infected pregnant mothers. In conclusion, intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection is less likely to occur during pregnancy. Most studies suggest that COVID-19 is not transmitted through breast milk. Correspondingly, COVID-19-infected neonates might acquire the infection the respiratory route because of the postnatal contact with the mother rather than during the prenatal period. International organizations encourage breastfeeding regardless of the COVID-19 status of the mother or child as long as proper hygienic and safety measures are adhered to so as to minimize the chance of infant infection by droplets and direct contact with the infected mother. Pasteurized donor human milk or infant formula as supplemental feeding can be quite beneficial in the case of mother-infant separation till breastfeeding is safe.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型（SARS-CoV-2）引起的一种新发流行病。在孕期，由于担心SARS-CoV-2在产前和产后从母亲传播给婴儿，其感染引发了更多担忧。一般来说，母亲感染并不会导致母乳喂养被禁止。然而，对于某些有确凿证据表明可从母亲传播给婴儿的感染源，以及新生儿感染与严重发病和死亡之间的关联，存在少数例外情况。已证实孕妇可感染SARS-CoV-2，尽管关于孕期SARS-CoV-2感染可能的垂直传播仍存在争议。在这方面，相关文献仍然较少。相反，即便在感染期间，只要母亲采取必要的预防措施，关于母乳喂养安全性的信息似乎还是令人安心的。然而，COVID-19患者在母乳喂养期间应采取哪些预防措施仍存在一些未解答的问题。本文回顾了针对这些及许多其他问题的现有答案。因此，本综述总结了目前对SARS-CoV-2感染的认识，并讨论了关于COVID-19母婴传播以及母乳喂养对感染孕妇所生婴儿潜在威胁的相关答案。总之，孕期SARS-CoV-2感染发生宫内传播的可能性较小。大多数研究表明，COVID-19不会通过母乳传播。相应地，感染COVID-19的新生儿可能是在出生后与母亲接触时通过呼吸道感染，而非在产前感染。国际组织鼓励无论母亲或儿童的COVID-19状况如何，只要坚持适当的卫生和安全措施，就进行母乳喂养，以尽量减少婴儿通过飞沫和直接接触感染母亲而被感染的机会。在母婴分离直到母乳喂养安全的情况下，巴氏消毒的捐赠人乳或婴儿配方奶作为补充喂养可能会很有益。
