Covid-19: Breastfeeding can protect your baby from the virus-News

Did you know that breast milk produces antibodies that protect babies from any type of infection, including various viruses? As World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) ends on August 7, practitioners and health authorities have raised awareness and reiterated the forgotten benefits of breastfeeding at the lowest cost.

Even during the Covid pandemic, the authorities have concluded that even if women are infected with Covid-19, they must continue to breastfeed their children.

Ayesha Abrar, a breastfeeding consultant certified by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, said she met some Covid-positive women who said that despite all precautions (such as wearing masks), they continued to breastfeed their babies and their babies were still Fully conscious of the virus.

In fact, Abrar said that breastfeeding not only protects the baby from various diseases, because it is rich in nutrients, antibodies and enzymes, but also improves the mother’s immunity when feeding the baby, because she consciously eats nutritious Feed the food to the child.

Rabbia Khan, a specialist general surgeon at Mediclinic City Hospital, said that although doctors cannot say with certainty whether a pregnant woman with Covif-19 can transmit the virus to her fetus or baby during pregnancy or childbirth, she added that the active virus It was not found in fluid samples around the baby in the womb or breast milk.

“WHO recommends encouraging mothers with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 to start or continue breastfeeding. Mothers should be informed that the benefits of breastfeeding greatly outweigh the potential risk of transmission. Protective antibodies have been detected in the breast milk of mothers who have previously been infected with Covid-19 And a variety of biologically active ingredients have been found in breast milk. These ingredients can not only prevent infection, but also improve the child’s neurocognitive and immune development,” said Dr. Khan.

Dr. Khan suggested that since the pandemic, more and more mothers are working from home, so they have more time to spend with their children. She said they must breastfeed their children.

“In terms of breastfeeding, novice mothers need strong encouragement and support from their families, because this can sometimes be difficult, especially when they have an infection in the breast called mastitis. We recommend that they continue to breastfeed with the affected breast, and at the same time It is a common myth to treat mastitis because this milk is not good. We cannot emphasize the importance of breastfeeding too much. It is an invaluable gift from nature to children. There is no formula to replace it. “Dr. Khan concluded.

MoHAP marks breastfeeding week

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), the UAE Health Service (EHS) and other local health authorities jointly launched a series of events to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week with the theme “Protecting Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility”. The purpose of these initiatives It is to raise the community’s awareness of breastfeeding, consolidate its practices, and encourage the protection of breastfeeding in order to improve public health.

These activities include awareness lectures to be held in hospitals and health centers on the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and children and the need to protect breastfeeding. Other activities include posting information on the benefits of breastfeeding and its role in improving children’s physical and mental health and protecting them from infection and disease on the Ministry’s social media platforms.

Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Centers and Clinics and Ministry of Public Health, pointed out that the Ministry’s participation in this event is its commitment to improve breastfeeding and its improvement in breastfeeding. Part of mothers and children who understand the role of physical and mental health emphasizes that increasing breastfeeding rates is the perfect way to build good family relationships and achieve a healthy society where individuals enjoy health and well-being.

Saman Hazik