Protecting Breastfeeding during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Perinatal Care Recommendations in the Context of Maternal and Child Well-Being

Aleksandra Wesołowska, Magdalena Orczyk-Pawiłowicz, Agnieszka Bzikowska-Jura, Małgorzata Gawrońska and Bartłomiej Walczak
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Aleksandra Wesołowska: Laboratory of Human Milk and Lactation Research at Regional Human Milk Bank in Holy Family Hospital, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland
Magdalena Orczyk-Pawiłowicz: Department of Biochemistry and Immunochemistry, Division of Chemistry and Immunochemistry, Wroclaw Medical University, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 48/50, 50-369 Wrocław, Poland
Agnieszka Bzikowska-Jura: Laboratory of Human Milk and Lactation Research at Regional Human Milk Bank in Holy Family Hospital, Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland
Małgorzata Gawrońska: Human Milk Bank Foundation, Podkowy Str. 128 J, 04-937 Warsaw, Poland
Bartłomiej Walczak: Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, Nowy Świat 69, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-26

Abstract: The objective of this scoping review is to determine to what extent the recommendations on perinatal care protect breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review follows the PRISMA ScR Extension guidelines. The research was conducted in Scopus, Medline via Pubmed, and Web of Science databases from 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2021, using 392 combinations of keywords. We searched for reviews and original papers published in English providing recommendations on delivery mode, companion during labor, the possibility of skin-to-skin contact (SSC), breastfeeding, and visitors policy. After screening, 86 out of 8416 publications qualified for data extraction. The majority of them indicated that COVID-19 infection is not a sufficient reason for a cesarean section; however, on a national level, cesarean births in severely ill patients were overrepresented. A significant number of recommendations deprived mothers of the necessary support during their labor and stay in the maternity ward. A shared decision-making model was hardly visible. Only the earliest COVID-19 recommendations suspended direct breastfeeding; in later publications, decisions were related to the mother’s health, but other options of natural feeding were rarely discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 infection; breastfeeding; human milk; well-being; perinatal care; recommendations; guidelines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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