Does the COVID-19 pandemic affect baby friendly hospitals?

In many countries, due to isolation measures and fear, the pandemic has compromised perinatal care and breastfeeding support practices.

Mothers, families and professionals face great challenges.

The World Health Organization has recommended that a postpartum woman with a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection (with a milder clinical picture or uncomplicated pneumonia):

can breastfeed her baby, or express in order to feed the baby her milk. The application of all hygienic measures to prevent the transmission of infection is required.
can have "skin to skin" contact with the newborn (with all the recommended measures to prevent the transmission of infection).

These recommendations have not been adopted by all countries. In some countries, a COVID-19-positive mother is separated from the child immediately after birth, regardless of the clinical picture of the disease. The fear of possible exposure of the newborn or health workers to the infection precluded mother-child proximity, breastfeeding the child and skin-to-skin contact.

The situation with the COVID-19 infection has just begun, but we must learn how to progress and how to improve the way we fight it, while preserving the humanization and quality of newborn care in the near future and for other pandemics that may befall us.
Breastmilk protects against morbidity and death in the period after birth and during childhood. It has a long-lasting effect on the child's immune system. The protective effect is especially strong against infectious diseases that are prevented by direct transmission of antibodies and other anti-infective factors.

The skin-to-skin contact procedure improves the regulation of body temperature and regulates the newborn's blood sugar level, reduces stress in the mother and newborn, and contributes to emotional attachment and breastfeeding success.