Breastfeeding remains safe for babies after probes showed only “fragments” and not live virus are present in breast milk, according to the World Health Organization.
“Based on the available evidence, [our] advice is that the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks of transmission of COVID-19,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general.
The international agency said it has investigated the risk of transmission and found out that breastfeeding mothers do not seem to be passing the virus to their infants.
“We know that children are at relatively low risk of COVID-19, but are at high risk of numerous other diseases and conditions that breastfeeding prevents,” said Tedros.
“So far we have not been able to detect live virus in breast milk,” said Anshu Banerjee, WHO Department of Reproductive Health senior adviser.
“So the risk of transmission from mother to child so far has not been established,” he added.
