Coronavirus infection appears to provide protection against infant breastfeeding and breast milk from mothers who have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to a study published in the JAMA Network Open.
Vicky Benetou, Pediatrician, Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the Laboratory of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics of the Medical School of EKPA, and Theodora Psaltopoulou, Professor of the Therapeutic Clinic of the Medical School of EKPA, summarize these data.
The study included 28 pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during childbirth and their babies who were born in a maternity hospital in Rome between January 2020 and May 2021. The immune response of mothers and their babies was studied 48 hours after birth and 2 months later. Specifically, specific antibodies against the virus protein spike in the blood serum of both mothers and infants as well as specific IgA antibodies against the virus in breast milk and infant saliva were measured.
The results showed that infants who were breastfed during the first two months of life had significantly higher levels of coronavirus-specific antibodies in their saliva than infants who received exclusively foreign milk. In addition, IgA versus coronavirus immunoglobulin complexes were found in breast milk, both 48 hours after and 2 months after delivery, and it is important that the virus itself was not detected in breast milk.
Researchers conclude that mothers who became infected with the virus during childbirth and are breastfeeding or breastfeeding protect their infants from the disease, not only through passive immunity, that is, by providing ready-made specific antibodies. against the coronavirus that pass to the infant through breast milk, but also through active immunity, ie by activating and “training” the immature immune system of the newborn, and especially the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, in the active production of antibodies against the virus.
The study reinforces data on the beneficial role of breast milk and breastfeeding in boosting the baby’s immune system and protecting it from acute infections, including coronavirus infection.
The researchers also note that there must be additional mechanisms in the infant’s immune system, in addition to the effect of breastfeeding, that protect them from this infection and that even breastfed infants were not infected with the coronavirus.
It is recalled that breastfeeding is the natural way of feeding the infant and young child with significant benefits, both immediate and long-term, for the child and the mother, society, the health system and the environment. According to the national recommendations for infant nutrition in Greece, infants are recommended to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life, while with the completion of the 6th month of life begins with breastfeeding the addition of appropriate, sufficient in quantity and safe solid foods. Breastfeeding is recommended to continue until the first two years of life and as much as the mother and child wish.
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