Integrative Lactation and Family Health

Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Nursing Mothers? New Rochelle, NY, January 12, 2021The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) does not recommend cessation of breastfeeding for individuals who are vaccinated against COVID-19. In a new statement, the ABM suggests that lactating women discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination with their health care provider, within the context of their risk of contracting COVID-19 and of developing severe disease, according to the peer-re...viewed journal Breastfeeding Medicine. Click here to read the ABM statement now. This is a challenging topic because the vaccine trials excluded lactating women. Thus, there are no clinical data regarding the safety of the Pfizer/BioNtech or the Moderna vaccine in nursing mothers. According to the ABM statement, there is little biological plausibility that the vaccine will cause harm, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] in milk may protect the breastfeeding child. Without clinical data, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine relied on biological plausibility and expert opinion to craft a Academy of BF Medicine statement on considerations for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in lactation, says Alison Stuebe, MD, President of ABM. The available information is reassuring; however, pregnant and lactating people deserve better than plausibility to guide medical decisions. Henceforward, phase 3 clinical trials should routinely include pregnant and lactating participants. It’s time to protect pregnant and breastfeeding individuals through research, not from research. Arthur I. Eidelman, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, states: The publication of the balanced ABM statement will serve as an immediate guide for clinicians and families in deciding to proceed with Covid-19 vaccination of nursing mothers. See more

BREASTFEEDING/PREGNANCY VACCINE STUDIES: If you are breast-feeding and are getting vaccinated for COVID-19, please consider joining one of these studies. 1) COVID-19 MILK HUMAN MILK STUDY: collecting human milk samples in women who are vaccinated. Email [email protected] if interested. 2) University of Washington Pregnancy and Lactation Registry: https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=87JFRCL8R8... 3) CDC VSAFE: Registry for pregnant/lactating individuals who will receive texts to help post marketing surveillance. https://vsafe.cdc.gov

Academy of Breastfeedung Medicine: COVID 19 vaccine and breastfeeding. https://www.bfmed.org/abm-statement-considerations-for-covi

Breastfeeding and the COVID-19 vaccine. Is it safe? https://www.infantrisk.com/covid-19-vaccine-pregnancy-and-b

Pregnant? Should you get the vaccine? Here is the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Report. https://www.smfm.org/covid19