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Breastfeeding and COVID-19

The Editor-in-Chief of International Breastfeeding Journal is selecting articles related to COVID-19 published in the journal to highlight in this collection.  All articles have been subject to the journal’s normal peer review process and the collection is not sponsored.

  1. Marriage promotes breastfeeding duration through economic and social supports. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected marginalized communities and impacted women’s employment and interpersonal dynam...

    Authors: Anna Charlotta Kihlstrom, Tara Stiller, Nishat Sultana, Grace Njau, Matthew Schmidt, Anastasia Stepanov and Andrew D. Williams
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2025 20:1
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The COVID-19 pandemic contact restrictions considerably changed maternal visiting contacts during the time in which breastfeeding is initiated. We wanted to know how maternity ward staff and mothers rated the ...

    Authors: Mathilde Kersting, Erika Sievers, Nele Hockamp, Hermann Kalhoff and Thomas Lücke
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2024 19:64
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. While the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in human breast milk is contentious, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies have been consistently detected in human breast milk. However, it is uncertain when and how long the antibodies ...

    Authors: Irene Fernández-Buhigas, Nieves Rayo, Julia Cuesta Silos, Berta Serrano, Olga Ocón-Hernández, Bo Wah Leung, Juan Luis Delgado, David Sánchez-Nieves Fernández, Silvia Valle, Laura De Miguel, Aroa Silgado, Ramón Perez Tanoira, Valeria Rolle, Belén Santacruz, Maria M. Gil and Liona C. Poon
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2024 19:5
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Given the limited availability of research on the association between COVID-19 infection and breastfeeding success, the primary objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of this relation...

    Authors: Ashraf Moini, Fatemeh Heidari, Mitra Eftekhariyazdi, Reihaneh Pirjani, Marjan Ghaemi, Nasim Eshraghi and Maryam Rabiei
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:65
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Breastfeeding is a critical health intervention in infants. Recent literature reported that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant mental health issues in pregnant and breastfeeding women due to social ...

    Authors: Jawahar Jagarapu, Marlon I. Diaz, Christoph U. Lehmann and Richard J. Medford
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:56
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Very few studies have assessed the association between COVID-19 infection and the rates of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) upon discharge following the first waves of the pandemic and after initiation of vaccina...

    Authors: Miguel Ángel Marín Gabriel, Sergio Martín Lozoya, Susana de las Heras Ibarra, Laura Domingo Comeche, Ersilia González Carrasco, Paula Lalaguna Mallada, Natalia Villó Sirerol, Lucía García Fernández, José Jiménez Martínez and Ana Royuela Vicente
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:54
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Evidence has shown that restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected breastfeeding support and outcomes in hospitals in many countries. The aims of the study were to describe exclusive br...

    Authors: Rada Artzi-Medvedik, Ilaria Mariani, Emanuelle Pessa Valente, Marzia Lazzerini and Ilana Azulay Chertok
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:30
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Doulas have been instrumental in providing breastfeeding support to nursing mothers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they can significantly impact a mother's ability to initiate and maintain breastf...

    Authors: Monica Ochapa, Kesha Baptiste-Roberts, Sharon E. Barrett, Adeola Animasahun and Yvonne Bronner
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:23
    Content type: Review Published on:

  9. Little is known about women’s experience of care and views on early breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway.

    Authors: Eline Skirnisdottir Vik, Sigrun Kongslien, Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg, Ilaria Mariani, Emanuelle Pessa Valente, Benedetta Covi and Marzia Lazzerini
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:15
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Our main objective was to determine the evolution of IgG and IgA antibodies directed against SARS-CoV-2 protein S in the blood of lactating women and in breast milk.

    Authors: Carolina Lechosa-Muñiz, María Paz-Zulueta, Juan Irure-Ventura, Jose Manuel Mendez-Legaza, Rocío Cuesta González, Inés Gómez-Acebo, Marcos López-Hoyos, Javier Llorca and María Jesús Cabero-Pérez
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2023 18:3
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Parental stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is well known, as is the stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This combination might increase stress to the extent of affecting the availability of m...

    Authors: Ilia Bresesti, Laura Morlacchi, Caterina Cazzaniga, Camilla Sangiorgio, Lorenza Bertù, Maria Elena Bolis, Angela Bossi and Massimo Agosti
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:94
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. WHO recommends donor milk as the next best choice if Mothers’ own milk (MOM) is unavailable. At our milk bank, during the COVID 19 pandemic, we observed a steep decline in the collection of donor milk, while P...

    Authors: Maheshwar Bhasin, Sushma Nangia, Gunjana Kumar, Abha Parihar and Srishti Goel
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:85
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Exclusive breastfeeding is the optimal infant nutrition, providing infants immunoprotection against many diseases including SARS-CoV-2 infection. Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively a...

    Authors: Ilana Azulay Chertok, Rada Artzi-Medvedik, Maryse Arendt, Emma Sacks, Marina Ruxandra Otelea, Carina Rodrigues, Raquel Costa, Karolina Linden, Mehreen Zaigham, Helen Elden, Daniela Drandic, Susanne Grylka-Baeschlin, Céline Miani, Emanuelle Pessa Valente, Benedetta Covi, Marzia Lazzerini…
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:83
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months is recommended as one of the most important ways to support child health and survival, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, breastfeeding women encou...

    Authors: Sasitara Nuampa, Ameporn Ratinthorn, Crystal L. Patil, Kornkanok Kuesakul, Sudhathai Prasong and Metpapha Sudphet
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:73
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. Since March 2020, the world has been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. One group particularly affected were mothers of newborns. The Israeli government imposed three lockdowns, with the first from 14 March to...

    Authors: Moran Blaychfeld Magnazi, Gaya Sartena, Michal Goldberg, Deena Zimmerman, Einat Ophir, Ravit Baruch, Rebecca Goldsmith and Ronit Endevelt
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:61
    Content type: Research Published on:

  16. Women with COVID-19 experienced numerous concerns and doubts about the safety of breastfeeding their babies, and lack of support may have impacted breastfeeding practices. This study aims to compare breastfeed...

    Authors: K. P. Coca, E. Y. Lee, L. Y. Chien, A. C. P. Souza, P. Kittikul, S. A. Hong and Y. S. Chang
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:58
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. In the past decade, various breastfeeding policies were implemented in Hong Kong, including changes in perinatal guidelines in public hospitals, adoption of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), provis...

    Authors: John Kwan, Jimsyn Jia, Ka-man Yip, Hung-kwan So, Sophie S. F. Leung, Patrick Ip and Wilfred H. S. Wong
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:40
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered how breastfeeding support is provided, resulting in mixed breastfeeding outcomes and experiences for mothers. The World Health Organization has consistently supp...

    Authors: Sarah Turner, Bridget McGann and Meredith ’Merilee’ Brockway
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:38
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide. The safety of breastfeeding of SARS-CoV-2-positive women has not yet reached a consensus among the scientific community, healthcare providers, experts ...

    Authors: Xiyao Liu, Haoyue Chen, Meijing An, Wangxing Yang, Yujie Wen, Zhihuan Cai, Lulu Wang and Qianling Zhou
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:28
    Content type: Review Published on:

  20. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of people were asked by their state and local governments not to go to work and not leave the house unless they had to. The goal of this qualitative study was to ...

    Authors: Mathilde Cohen and Corinne Botz
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:22
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has affected reproductive and perinatal health both through the infection itself and, indirectly, as a consequence of changes in medical care, social policy or social and econom...

    Authors: Isabel Rodríguez-Gallego, Helen Strivens-Vilchez, Irene Agea-Cano, Carmen Marín-Sánchez, María Dolores Sevillano-Giraldo, Concepción Gamundi-Fernández, Concepción Berná-Guisado and Fatima Leon-Larios
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2022 17:11
    Content type: Research Published on:

  22. It has been demonstrated that children who had been breastfed remain better protected against various infections, and notably respiratory tract infections, well beyond infancy. Since the role of breastfeeding ...

    Authors: Sergio Verd, Jan Ramakers, Isabel Vinuela, Maria-Isabel Martin-Delgado, Aina Prohens and Ruth Díez
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2021 16:83
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  23. Although the positive effects of good clinical quality standards in perinatal care and breastfeeding support for women, newborns and families have been already demonstrated, many of these practices were disrup...

    Authors: Barbara Muñoz-Amat, Carmen Rosa Pallás-Alonso and María-Teresa Hernández-Aguilar
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2021 16:66
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges to the provision of newborn nutrition and care interventions including maternal support, breastfeeding and family participatory care. Italy was the first coun...

    Authors: Giuseppe Latorre, Domenico Martinelli, Pietro Guida, Ester Masi, Roberta De Benedictis and Luca Maggio
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2021 16:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. The World Health Organization recognizes exclusive breastfeeding a safe source of nutrition available for children in most humanitarian emergencies, as in the current pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respir...

    Authors: Walusa Assad Gonçalves-Ferri, Fábia Martins Pereira-Cellini, Kelly Coca, Davi Casale Aragon, Paulo Nader, João Cesar Lyra, Maryneia Silva do Vale, Sérgio Marba, Katiaci Araujo, Laura Afonso Dias, Daniela Marques de Lima Mota Ferreira, Gislayne Nieto, Lêni Marcia Anchieta, Rita de Cássia Silveira, Marta David Rocha de Moura, Valdenise Martins L. Tuma Calil…
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2021 16:30
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on infant feeding in the context of COVID-19 uphold standing recommendations for breastfeeding, non-separation, and skin-to-skin contact, including the use o...

    Authors: Estrella Olonan-Jusi, Paul G. Zambrano, Vu H. Duong, Nguyen T. T. Anh, Nant S. S. Aye, Mei Chien Chua, Hikmah Kurniasari, Zaw Win Moe, Sopapan Ngerncham, Nguyen T. T. Phuong and Janice Datu-Sanguyo
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2021 16:29
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  28. The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting normal life globally, every area of life is touched. The pandemic demands quick action and as new information emerges, reliable synthesises and guidelines for care are urgen...

    Authors: Welma Lubbe, Elina Botha, Hannakaisa Niela-Vilen and Penny Reimers
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2020 15:82
    Content type: Review Published on:

  29. The first reports of the Chinese experience in the management of newborns of mothers with SARS-CoV 2 infection did not recommend mother-baby contact or breastfeeding. At present, the most important Internation...

    Authors: Augusto Pereira, Sara Cruz-Melguizo, Maria Adrien, Lucia Fuentes, Eugenia Marin, Azul Forti and Tirso Perez-Medina
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2020 15:69
    Content type: Research Published on:

  31. In an effort to prevent infants being infected with SARS-CoV-2, some governments, professional organisations, and health facilities are instituting policies that isolate newborns from their mothers and otherwi...

    Authors: Karleen Gribble, Roger Mathisen, Mija-tesse Ververs and Anna Coutsoudis
    Citation: International Breastfeeding Journal 2020 15:67
    Content type: Commentary Published on: