Health of the Newborn and Breastfeeding during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review.

OBJECTIVE

 The present article presents a literature review concerning the microbiota of breast milk and the influence of epigenetics in the susceptibility to COVID-19.

METHODS

 A literature review.

RESULTS

 Breastfeeding transfers microbiota, nutrients, diverse white blood cells, prebiotics, hormones, and antibodies to the baby, which provide short- and long-term immunological protection against several infectious, gastrointestinal, and respiratory illnesses. The little evidence available shows that breast milk very rarely carries the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and even in those cases, it has been discarded as the source of contagion.

CONCLUSION

 The reviewed studies show evidence of a beneficial effect of breastfeeding and highlights its importance on the current pandemic due to the immune reinforcement that it provides. Breastfed individuals showed better clinical response due to the influence on the microbiota and to the nutritional and immune contribution provided by breast milk, compared with those who were not breastfed.

Federação Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).