WHO urges mothers to breastfeed even if infected with COVID-19

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference organized by Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU) amid the COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva Switzerland July 3, 2020. [REUTERS]

Mothers should breastfeed their babies even if they have contracted COVID-19, the World Health Organization’s head said on Monday, as the benefits outweigh the risks of infection.

“WHO recommends that mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be encouraged the same as all other mothers to initiate or continue breastfeeding,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.