Assessing the Mother's Breastfeeding During The Pandemic
Step 5 of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding advises that:
“Health care professionals assess the mother’s breastfeeding techniques…optimally within 3 hours and no later than 6 hours after birth,”1.
This emphasizes the urgent need for healthcare practitioners to take a closer look and ensure that the right techniques are being used by breastfeeding mothers. With the pandemic the world is currently experiencing, we are receiving reports of breastfeeding individuals being separated from their breastfeeding infants.
Breastfeeding during COVID-19
In order to assess breastfeeding and to set up a firm milk supply, the breastfeeding dyad should be kept together, skin-to-skin. (See previous posts on all the benefits of skin-to-skin.) What does your facility policy or protocol recommend during COVID-19? Do you now separate the breastfeeding dyad when COVID is suspected or diagnosed? What does current research recommend?
Recommendations on how to keep the mother and infant together during the pandemic
Here are some links to current recommendations to keep the breastfeeding couplet together during pandemics and especially COVID-19.
- Queensland Clinical Guidelines https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/947148/g-covid-19.pdf
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine https://www.bfmed.org/abm-statement-coronavirus
- S. based CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
- WHO https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
- K based UNICEF https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/infant-feeding-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/
- Infant and Young Child Feeding https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/infant-young-child-feeding-context-covid-19-brief-no-2-v1-march-30th-2020
- Safely Fed Canada http://safelyfed.ca/covid19-resources/
Final thoughts...
There are many more research- and evidence-based statements from organizations, governments, individuals, and health care providers about COVID and breastfeeding. Please use those resources to make a meaningful change in your facility.
If you found this post to be helpful then please don’t forget to share. You may also be interested in a previous post on Providing Breastfeeding Education to Mothers & Families. Stay safe and thank you for all you’re doing for breastfeeding families during this very trying time.
Kathy
Referrences
- Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. (2020). The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Interim Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria for Facilities Seeking and Sustaining Baby Friendly Designation. https://www.babyfriendlyusa.org/news/bfusa-releases-interim-guidelines-and-evaluation-criteria/
