Baby’s Sweet Beginnings Statement on Breastfeeding and COVID19 Pandemic
As of March 1st, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a statement in reference to breastfeeding and COVID19, more commonly known as the coronavirus.
The CDC recommends that any mother with confirmed COVID19, or who is an asymptomatic person under investigation, should take all possible precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant. This would include washing her hands before touching the infant and wearing a facemask if possible while feeding at the breast. If expressing breast milk with a manual or electric breast pump, a 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 healthy feed the expressed milk to the infant.
Proper cleaning of breast pumps: before every use, moms should wash hands with hot water and soap for 20 seconds. Inspect and assemble the clean pump kit, clean the pump tubes, power switch and countertop with disinfectant wipes especially if using a shared space. If you have someone assisting with any of this, they should follow the same procedures after properly washing their hands.
To clean your pump: take apart the breast pump tubing and separate all parts that come in contact with the breast and or breast milk. Rinse the pump parts that come into contact with the breast by holding on a running water to remove remaining milk.. Clean the pump parts that come into contact with the breast milk as soon as possible after pumping. Do not place parts in sink to rinse; you can clean your pump parts in a dishwasher or by hand in a wash basin that you use only for cleaning the pump kit and infant feeding items. If you are ill, we suggest sterilizing your pump parts for 3 minutes in rapidly boiling water and then air drying. It is not safe to use your pump parts and then store your flanges in the refrigerator between uses.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to use with any questions. Our 24/7 Phone Support Line is 716-681-8100.