COVID-19 positive mothers can continue to breastfeed their babies but are advised to keep them at a distance of six feet from themselves, according to a new advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry.
It also said that an overall health check-up post-COVID recovery must be carried out in pregnant women to ensure that the mother and the fetus are doing fine.
An interview of Dr Manju Puri, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Lady Hardinge Medical College, released by the ministry said that during the second wave, many women contracted COVID-19 during pregnancy compared to the first wave.
"COVID if severe can lead to serious complications during pregnancy, especially during the last trimester as the uterus is enlarged and presses on the diaphragm, compromising a woman's ability to cope with a fall in oxygen saturation. This may lead to a sudden fall in blood oxygen saturation and risk the lives of both the mother and the child. Vaccines will help prevent severe diseases in pregnant women," Dr Puri said.
It has now been approved that women can take COVID-19 vaccines even during pregnancy. "Vaccines help the body develop immunity against a specific pathogen, it does not affect any other body tissue. We recommend an overall health check-up post-COVID recovery to ensure that the mother and the fetus are doing fine," Dr Puri said.
"Also, vaccinating a mother is likely to give some degree of protection to the newborn as the antibodies developed in the mother's body post-vaccination will pass on to the developing fetus through her blood. In the case of lactating mothers, an infant gets these antibodies through the mother's breast milk," the expert pointed out.
