Resource Library

This World Health Organization question and answer series provides answers on breastfeeding when COVID-19 infection is suspected or confirmed.

This scientific brief examines the evidence to June 2020 on the risks of transmission of COVID-19 from an infected mother to her baby through breastfeeding as well as evidence on the risks to child health from not breastfeeding.

This resource provides a review of evidence and recommendations for facilitating and protecting breastfeeding during the COVID-19.

This repository is compiled by the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and provides an overview of what peer-reviewed journal articles currently state on COVID-19, breastfeeding, infant feeding, and breast milk. Updated with a snapshot of what is published every two weeks. 

This video demonstrates how mothers with Covid-19 can breastfeed safely, providing their newborn with the best source of nutrition and protection to survive and thrive. The 60-second film was produced by award-winning Studio Eeksaurus of Mumbai with UK-based Medical Aid Films. It has reached more than 40 million viewers on social media since the launch on 28 May 2020.

This advocacy brief is organized into two separate papers:

The first half acts as a standalone briefing that highlights the importance of the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Year of Action, positions breastfeeding within its universal health coverage pillar and organizes the SMART breastfeeding recommendations into their corresponding N4G commitment types.

The latter half provides the rationale for each of the pledges and signposts towards helpful resources, including official guidance notes and case studies, to support country implementation.

For more than 40 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has promoted breastfeeding to save lives, prevent malnutrition, and enhance the long-term health and prosperity of women and children. By promoting breastfeeding in programs and policies, USAID is helping families chart productive and prosperous for their children and supporting communities to thrive.

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers and newborns continue to be significantly impacted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. This is partly due to direct risk from COVID-19 infection. However, it is also due to widespread misinformation, poor communication, and implementation of non-evidence-based policies intended to reduce COVID-19 transmission but that actually increased risk to mothers and newborns. Here are five key messages to protect women and newborns and maintain progress toward preventing maternal and newborn mortality.

Background: Appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the early years of life will ensure optimal growth and development of the child. However, many children are not fed in the recommended way.

Objectives: To assess the risk of malnutrition as a result of various feeding practice patterns among the children with the application of the decision tree algorithm.

Methods: It was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in the urban slums of Berhampur Municipal Corporation in Ganjam District, Odisha, India, from January to December 2019. Among a sample of 360 children of 6-23 months, nutritional status and feeding practices were determined. Data were analyzed using R version 3.6.1 developed by R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. The effect of IYCF practices on nutritional status was explained with the decision tree method with the use of a Chi-squared automatic interaction detection algorithm.

Midwives and nurses play a vital role in protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding worldwide. Skilled breastfeeding support from midwives and nurses helps prevent childhood infections and mortality, while boosting cognitive development and decreasing rates of obesity, diabetes and maternal and child cancers. Bonding and attachment are intrinsic to the breastfeeding relationship and foster mental and emotional health and development for both mother and child. Universal breastfeeding could prevent 823,000 child deaths and 20,000 maternal deaths each year and spur significant economic savings.

The report gives a comprehensive overview of parents’ unique experiences regarding neonatal care provision and the impact of implemented restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.