Relationship Between Maternal COVID-19 Infection and In-Hospital Exclusive Breastfeeding for Term Newborns.
Jessica Gomez, Diane Wardell, Stanley Cron and 1 others
PMID 35661652WHAT IT FOUND
After accounting for insurance, race, glucose gel, gestational age, birth weight and stay, maternal COVID-19 was not significantly linked to lower in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding.
When donor-milk-fed newborns were excluded from that group, infection was linked to lower rates.
Key findings
01In the adjusted model, maternal COVID-19 infection was not significantly associated with in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding.
02Mothers with infection had in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding rates of 40.7%, compared with 55.1% for mothers without infection.
03When newborns receiving donor human milk were excluded from the exclusive breastfeeding group, maternal infection was significantly associated with lower exclusive breastfeeding.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is retrospective, observational, and nonrandomized, so it can show association but not cause. It was done at one hospital in the southern United States with strong breastfeeding support, so it may not apply elsewhere. Important factors were not reliably available, including visitor restrictions, mother-newborn separation time, maternal body mass index, maternal education, nicotine use, breastfeeding intent, maternal age, and mode of birth. The main conclusion about donor milk comes partly from a sensitivity model that excluded newborns receiving donor milk from the exclusive breastfeeding group. Feeding status was taken from routine electronic health record entries by nursing staff.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that maternal COVID-19 infection alone lowers in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding. The adjusted model was not significant, and the significant finding appeared only when newborns receiving donor human milk were excluded from the breastfeeding group.