Rooming in and Breast Feeding Practices and Rate of Horizontal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in 5 UAE Hospitals—An Observational Study

Abstract

Objectives: To assess risks of mother to child horizontal transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus during rooming in and breastfeeding in infants born to mothers with the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. Design: Retrospective observational study. Participants: Five tertiary care centers located in the United Arab Emirates. Infants born to mothers positive for SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at the time of delivery, born between April 1 and October 30, 2020. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed the newborn care practices in various tertiary care hospitals and the rate of horizontal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to infant (horizontal) while rooming in, breastfeeding, and post-discharge. Results: There were total of 2,405 deliveries in the 5 stated hospitals of which 40 infants were born to mothers with positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR at the time of delivery. One infant tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after birth at 24 h of life and had respiratory symptoms and fever. Twenty-three of the well infants were roomed in during their hospital stay and were breastfed. In 8 cases, the mother and baby were separated and isolated from the time of birth till discharge. 95% of the discharged infants were rooming in with mothers, 45% of the infants were exclusively breastfed, and 55% were on mixed feeding (breast milk and formula milk) at the follow-up. None of the infants developed significant health issues or symptoms attributable to SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: The risk of mother to infant horizontal transmission of COVID-19 in the perinatal period is very low. Our study reaffirms the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that rooming in and breastfeeding of newborns born to SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers is safe without an increased risk of horizontal transmission by following mandated safety precautions.