COVID-19 Breastfeeding Advice
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- Published on Wednesday, 25 March 2020 17:02
Can mothers who are exposed to or who have contracted covid-19 breastfeed their babies?
Yes. Please see up to date information from the Centers for Disease Control concerning known facts for pregnant and breastfeeding women here.
Breastfeeding and the risk of respiratory tract infections after infancy
Infectious diseases, including respiratory tract infections, are a leading cause of morbidity and hospitalization in infants and children.[1, 2] There is much epidemiological evidence for the benefits of breastfeeding against a wide range of infections and illnesses.[3, 4] Breast milk contains various antimicrobial substances, anti-inflammatory components and factors that promote immune development.[4, 5] It enhances the immature immune system of the infant and strengthens defense mechanisms against infectious and other agents during the breastfeeding period.[4–7] Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life with breastfeeding along with complementary feeding thereafter is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Transmission of COVID-19 through breast milk
Much is unknown about how COVID-19 is spread. Person-to-person spread is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza (flu) and other respiratory pathogens spread. In limited studies on women with COVID-19 and another coronavirus infection, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), the virus has not been detected in breast milk.
Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Homes and Residential Communities
Household members, intimate partners, and caregivers in a nonhealthcare setting may have close contact2 with a person with symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or a person under investigation. Close contacts should monitor their health; they should call their healthcare provider right away if they develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, shortness of breath) (see Interim US Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Persons with Potential Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Exposure in Travel-associated or Community Settings.)
Close contacts should also follow these recommendations:
- Make sure that you understand and can help the patient follow their healthcare provider’s instructions for medication(s) and care. You should help the patient with basic needs in the home and provide support for getting groceries, prescriptions, and other personal needs.
- Monitor the patient’s symptoms. If the patient is getting sicker, call his or her healthcare provider and tell them that the patient has laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. This will help the healthcare provider’s office take steps to keep other people in the office or waiting room from getting infected. Ask the healthcare provider to call the local or state health department for additional guidance. If the patient has a medical emergency and you need to call 911, notify the dispatch personnel that the patient has, or is being evaluated for COVID-19.
- Household members should stay in another room or be separated from the patient as much as possible. Household members should use a separate bedroom and bathroom, if available.
- Prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.
- Household members should care for any pets in the home. Do not handle pets or other animals while sick. For more information, see COVID-19 and Animals.
- Make sure that shared spaces in the home have good air flow, such as by an air conditioner or an opened window, weather permitting.
- Perform hand hygiene frequently. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60 to 95% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- The patient should wear a facemask when you are around other people. If the patient is not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), you, as the caregiver, should wear a mask when you are in the same room as the patient.
- Wear a disposable facemask and gloves when you touch or have contact with the patient’s blood, stool, or body fluids, such as saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, urine.
- Throw out disposable facemasks and gloves after using them. Do not reuse.
- When removing personal protective equipment, first remove and dispose of gloves. Then, immediately clean your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Next, remove and dispose of facemask, and immediately clean your hands again with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid sharing household items with the patient. You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items. After the patient uses these items, you should wash them thoroughly (see below “Wash laundry thoroughly”).
- Clean all “high-touch” surfaces, such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables, every day. Also, clean any surfaces that may have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.
- Use a household cleaning spray or wipe, according to the label instructions. Labels contain instructions for safe and effective use of the cleaning product including precautions you should take when applying the product, such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.
- Wash laundry thoroughly.
- Immediately remove and wash clothes or bedding that have blood, stool, or body fluids on them.
- Wear disposable gloves while handling soiled items and keep soiled items away from your body. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after removing your gloves.
- Read and follow directions on labels of laundry or clothing items and detergent. In general, using a normal laundry detergent according to washing machine instructions and dry thoroughly using the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label.
- Place all used disposable gloves, facemasks, and other contaminated items in a lined container before disposing of them with other household waste. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after handling these items. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
- Discuss any additional questions with your state or local health department or healthcare provider. Check available hours when contacting your local health department.
Guidance on breastfeeding for mothers with confirmed COVID-19 or under investigation for COVID-19
Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most infants. However, much is unknown about COVID-19. Whether and how to start or continue breastfeeding should be determined by the mother in coordination with her family and healthcare providers. A mother with confirmed COVID-19 or who is a symptomatic PUI should take all possible precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant, including washing her hands before touching the infant and wearing a face mask, if possible, while feeding at the breast. If expressing breast milk with a manual or electric breast pump, the mother should wash her hands before touching any pump or bottle parts and follow recommendations for proper pump cleaning after each use. If possible, consider having someone who is well feed the expressed breast milk to the infant.
COVID - 19 Up to Date Information
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 25 March 2020 12:17
- The most up-to-date information and guidance can be found via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 website (here). You are also encouraged to follow HHS, CDC, and other agency social media channels for up-to-date information.
- The Coronavirus Task Force holds frequent national briefings which can be viewed live (here)
- Community Guidance
- The President’s Guidelines for America: 15 Days to Slow the Spread (here)
- HHS/CDC Community Framework for Mitigation (here)
- Guidance for families, businesses, schools and others (here)
- What is Social Distancing (video)
- CDC Print Resources and Fact Sheets (here)
- Informational Videos
- President Donald J. Trump: Strong & United, We Will Prevail (here)
- First Lady Melania Trump: A Message from First Lady Melania Trump (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: Urgent Need – Health Americans Should Continue Donating Blood (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: How Can Millennials Stop the Spread of Coronavirus (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: Is It Still Safe to Donate Blood? (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: How Can You Engage in Social Distancing? (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: How Can You Keep the Most Vulnerable Safe from Coronavirus (here)
- U.S. Surgeon General: Message to Young People (here)
- Dr. Deborah Birx: How Can Millennials Fight the Coronavirus (here)
- Dr. Deborah Birx: What Should Schools Do About (here)
- Dr. Deborah Birx: Where Can the Coronavirus Live? (here)
- Dr. Deborah Birx: Who Needs to be Tested for Coronavirus? (here)
- Dr. Deborah Birx: Protect the People Around You (here)
What You Need To Know (https://www.coronavirus.gov/)
- What You Should Know - How COVID-19 Spreads, Symptoms, etc. (here)
- Situation Summary (here)
- Travel Information (here) – State Department: International Travel (here)
- Avoid Scams (here)
- Preventing COVID-10 Spread in Communities (here)
- Higher Risk & Special Populations (here)
- Healthcare Professionals (here)
- Resources for Healthcare Facilities (here)
- Resources for Health Departments (here)
- Laboratories (here)
- Communication Resources (here)
The President's Coronavirus Guidelines for American
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 19 March 2020 10:17
15 DAYS TO SLOW THE SPREAD
Listen to and follow the directions of your STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
IF YOU FEEL SICK, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE SICK, keep them at home. Do not send them to school. Contact your medical provider.
IF SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD HAS TESTED POSITIVE for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home. Do not go to work. Do not got to school. Contact your medical provider.
IF YOU ARE AN OLDER PERSON, stay home and away from other people.
IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITH A SERIOUS UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION that can put you at increased risk (for example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.
DO YOUR PART TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS
Even if you are young, or otherwise healthy, you are at risk and your activities can increase the risk for others. It is critical that you do your part to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Work or engage in schooling FROM HOME whenever possible.
IF YOU WORK IN A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, such as healthcare services and pharmaceutical and food supply, you have a special responsibility to maintain your normal work schedule. You and your employers should follow CDC guidance to protect your health at work.
AVOID SOCIAL GATHERINGS in groups of more than 10 people.
Avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts - USE DRIVE-THRU, PICKUP, OR DELIVERY OPTIONS.
AVOID DISCRETIONARY TRAVEL, shopping trips, and social visits.
DO NOT VISIT nursing homes or retirement or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance.
PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE:
- Wash your hands, especially after touching any frequently used item or surface.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Sneeze or cough into a tissue, or the inside of your elbow.
- Disinfect frequently used items and surfaces as much as possible.
School operations can accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. Governors of states with evidence of community transmission should close schools in affected and surrounding areas. Governors should close schools in communities that are near areas of community transmission, even if those areas are in neighboring states. In addition, state and local officials should close schools where coronavirus has been identified in the population associated with the school. States and localities that close schools need to address childcare needs of critical responders, as well as the nutritional needs of children.
Older people are particularly at risk from the coronavirus. All states should follow Federal guidance and halt social visits to nursing homes and retirement and long-term care facilities.
In states with evidence of community transmission, bars, restaurants, food courts, gyms, and other indoor and outdoor venues where groups of people congregate should be closed.
For more information please go to coronavirus.gov.
15 Days to Slow the Spread
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 18 March 2020 10:27
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Andrew County Health Department
106 North 5th Street
Savannah, MO 64485
Media inquiries contact Andrew Hoffman, Administrator at 816-324-3139
03/18/2020
15 Days to Slow the Spread
On Monday, President Trump outlined new guidance, encouraging citizens to engage in community and personal mitigation strategies for 15 days, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Andrew County Health Department would like to ask all citizens to take an active role in this response, helping to protect our community.
How can you help? Consider taking the following actions.
- Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.
- If you fee sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider if you need to be assessed.
- If your child is sick, keep them home. Contact your medical provider if needed.
- If someone in your home tests positive for COVID-19, keep the entire household home. Try to separate ill persons from health persons inside the home.
- If you are an older person, stay home and away from other people.
- If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition that can put you are increased risk. Stay home. Ask for family and neighbors to help bring you items that you need.
- Work or engage in activities from home. Consider using online platforms to work, attend church, or interact with friends.
- Avoid social gatherings in groups of 10 or more people.
- Avoid eating or gathering at bars, restaurants, for food courts. You can still support local businesses by using drive-thru, pickup and delivery options.
- Avoid unnecessary travel, such as for shopping trips or social visits.
- Do not visit nursing homes unless you provide critical assistance.
- Practice good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, avoid touching your face, covering your cough and sneeze, and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Every member of our community can make a difference. The Andrew County Health Department will continue to monitor the situation and provide timely updates. At this time, there are no cases of COVID-19 in Andrew county.
Please continue to seek information from the CDC, at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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