Is the Covid-19 vaccine compatible with breastfeeding?
Many women are asking this question while vaccination is one of the challenges of the start of the school year to stem the epidemic in France.
On social networks, many express their fears about messenger RNA, antibodies or the side effects of the vaccine.
To disentangle the true from the false, we consulted the latest studies and interviewed specialists.
Can Messenger RNA pass into breast milk?
One of the main fears of young mothers is about new vaccines using Messenger RNA technology. “If I do the RNA vaccine, it will integrate my DNA and that of my baby because of my milk. I want to avoid this at all costs! »Says a young mother on Facebook. An argument refuted by Doctor Salama, a gynecologist in Paris: “Contrary to what we read on the Internet, messenger RNA will not integrate human DNA and modify it. It is a very fragile molecule which will be very quickly destroyed by the organism as soon as it is detected ”.
Could this mRNA be transmitted from mother to child via her breast milk?
“It's not a virus that you inject directly with messenger RNA.
As it is not infectious, there is no reason for it to pass into the milk, ”assures Professor Tounian, pediatrician at Trousseau Hospital in Paris.
“The mRNA will produce antibodies in the mother, but the mRNA will not pass into the milk.
Observations have shown it and medical reasoning goes in this direction too, ”he explains.
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As scientific studies show, mRNA is not passed from mother to child. According to CRAT, the Reference Center for Teratogenic Agents, existing data on 4,000 breastfeeding women vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine show that "no particular event has been identified in their children". The organization concludes that “mRNA and viral vector vaccines against Covid-19 are devoid of infectious power. The breastfed child is therefore not at risk of being infected by the vaccine given to his mother ”. Same observation from the WHO, which indicates in its provisional recommendations of June 15, 2021 that "mRNA does not penetrate into the nucleus of the cell and degrades rapidly, it is biologically and clinically unlikely that it presents a risk for the breastfed child. Based on these considerations,(…) WHO does not recommend interrupting breastfeeding after vaccination ”.
Does vaccination reduce milk production?
“I don't want to be vaccinated because I'm afraid I won't be able to produce milk for my baby anymore,” Laurie, 28, tells us. A concern that leads many mothers to ask their practitioner about the side effects of the vaccine. “A lot of patients ask me about the subject, and a priori the side effects are ordinary in mothers as for the rest of the population. Sometimes pain at the injection site, temporary fatigue, but no more. They also fear side effects on their child but, given the vaccine process, it should not have any ”, analyzes Doctor Salama. An opinion shared by Professor Tounian: “Side effects exist, such as fatigue and fever. These symptoms can indeed reduce mothers' lactation, but it is very occasional. Never,this could not happen for a prolonged period ”.
Scientific data confirms that side effects are similar in lactating women and the rest of the population.
On March 25, 2021, a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology showed that out of 131 women vaccinated, including 31 breastfeeding, side effects were similar in pregnant breastfeeding women and non-pregnant control women.
Common side effects, such as fever and chills, were reported by half of women who were not pregnant.
Read alsoHaving a baby in times of Covid, between optimism and obstacle course
In France, the Orientation Council for the Vaccine Strategy also recalled this similarity in its vaccination recommendation of April 6, 2021. It is written that “breastfeeding is absolutely not an obstacle to vaccination.
The immune response of pregnant women following vaccination with mRNA vaccines is identical to that of non-pregnant women ”.
The Council adds that "post-vaccine antibodies have been found in the blood of the umbilical cord and in the milk, which may suggest a protective effect on the infant, as for the flu or whooping cough."
Would the antibodies in breast milk harm the baby?
Many breastfeeding women are worried about passing on antibodies. “It was my pediatrician who recommended that I wait… a priori the dose of antibodies produced after the vaccine would be too strong for the baby…”, Deborah reports on Facebook. “This is a common mistake, even among doctors,” explains Professor Tounian. “We have little data on Covid but we know that antibodies from viruses are transmitted through breast milk and do not go into the child's blood,” he adds. They stay in the digestive tract, in the throat. They can provide protection, but much less. You should neither believe that there are too many of them, nor believe that your child will be 100% protected after being vaccinated ”.
The latest study on breast milk and antibodies was published in the American scientific journal JAMA on April 12, 2021. In 504 samples of breast milk, an increase in certain immune proteins was observed after the 1st and the 2nd dose. vaccine.
Although the study suggests a potential protective effect in infants, scientists cannot determine the intensity and extent of protection given to breastfed children.
Other studies are underway on the subject.
Is it better to wait until you are finished breastfeeding to get the vaccine?
If the scientific data on breastfeeding women are more numerous, doctors prefer to recommend caution. They advise their patients to wait, for lack of sufficient hindsight. A contradictory message often misunderstood by young women. "On the Internet, nothing is clear ... doctors too ...", writes Samira in a Facebook post where she seeks advice from other mothers. The "mess", deplore Doctor Nathan Peiffer-Smadja, infectious disease specialist at Bichat Hospital, who had shared on Twitter his feelings after seeing a young mother being transferred to intensive care.
😰 How sad
30 years, gave birth 6 months ago, a doctor would have said that with breastfeeding you should be wary of vaccines
From 2 to 10 L of O2 / min in 3 hours probable transfer in sheave, announcement of aggravation to the family, in tears
To say that all this is preventable, what a waste!
- Nathan Peiffer-Smadja (@nathanpsmad) August 23, 2021
“This woman who was breastfeeding is still in intensive care, she is on high flow oxygenation. It is not an isolated case, there are many examples of unvaccinated breastfeeding women who have had serious forms, ”he tells us. “We have heard many reports from women who say that their doctor does not recommend vaccination. We must fight and restore the facts! We risk really big by not being vaccinated, we risk nothing or almost nothing by being vaccinated. I recommend it without any qualms, the benefit of the vaccine is much greater than the risk ”, insists Dr Peiffer-Smadja.
