Ensuring Exclusive Human Milk Diet for All Babies in COVID-19 Times
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Ensuring Exclusive Human Milk Diet for All Babies in COVID-19 Times RUCHIKA CHUGH SACHDEVA1, SUKSHAM JAIN2, SUCHANDRA MUKHERJEE3 AND JAI SINGH4
From 1Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition, PATH, New Delhi; 2Department of Neonatology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh; 3Department of Neonatology, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research and Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal; and 4Department of Neonatology, District Hospital Chittorgarh, Rajasthan; India. Correspondence to: Ruchika Chugh Sachdeva, Deputy Director, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition, PATH 15th Floor, Gopal Das Bhawan, Barakhamba Road New Delhi- 110001, India. [email protected] Published online: June 09, 2020: PII: S097475591600191 The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has ramifications for the delivery of newborn nutrition and care services. World Health Organization recommends continuation of breastfeeding in these difficult times, with due precautions. If direct breastfeeding is not possible, milk expression should be explored. Pasteurized donor human milk from milk banks may be fed if mother’s own milk is not available. To universalize access to human milk, the Indian government has proposed the establishment of comprehensive lactation management centers/milk banks, lactation management units, and lactation support units at all levels of the public health system. Due to COVID-19, these centers are encountering additional challenges cutting across interventions of rooming in, breastfeeding, milk expression, and provision of donor milk and kangaroo mother care. We discuss issues faced and alleviation measures taken by these centres in relation to provision of an exclusive human milk diet for infants during the pandemic. Keywords: Breastfeeding, Donor Human Milk, Kangaroo Mother Care, Pandemic. Published online: June 09, 2020; PII: S097475591600191
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data indicates a strong immunoglobulin A dominant SARSCoV-2 immune response in breast milk of COVID-19 infected mothers [7]. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised early and exclusive breastfeeding for COVID-19 suspected and confirmed mothers, while encouraging them to take adequate precautions. Mothers who are too ill to breastfeed are advised to feed their expressed breastmilk [8]. Guidelines by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other professional bodies propagate similar advice [9-11].
he severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has brought forth unprecedented global and local challenges, more so in developing countries like India. While on one hand, the country has launched measures including a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the disease, on the other, efforts are on to minimize disruptions to the delivery of essential services such as maternal and newborn health and nutrition [1]. Estimates suggest that lower coverage of interventions for six months due to the pandemic will result in 17% (1.15 million) more newborn and child deaths globa
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