If You Are Pregnant, Breastfeeding, or Caring for Younger Youngsters | COVID-19

Protect yourself and your family from COVID-19

Based on what we know at this point pregnant people possibly an increased risk of serious illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people. In addition, pregnant people with COVID-19 may be at increased risk of unwanted pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth. Therefore, if you are pregnant, take care to reduce the risk of disease. When you look after children, you can teach them everyday steps, such as how to wash their hands properly, so that they can stay healthy and protect themselves and your family.

Reduce the risk of developing COVID-19.

It is especially important for people at increased risk of serious illness of COVID-19 and those who live with them to protect themselves from COVID-19.

The best ways to protect yourself and reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 are to:

If you feel sick and think you have COVID-19, contact your doctor within 24 hours.

Dare to venture into a public environment? What to consider before you go

As communities and businesses in the United States open, you may consider resuming some activities, running errands, and attending events and gatherings. There is no way to ensure that you are not at risk of infection. Therefore, it is important to understand the risks and how to be as safe as possible.

Pregnant women and those who live with them should consider their risk before deciding to date and ensure they take steps to protect themselves and others. Avoid activities that can be difficult to take protective measures, such as walking around the corner. B. Activities where social distancing cannot be maintained. Everyone should take steps to prevent COVID-19 from being received and spread to protect themselves, their communities and people who are at increased risk of serious illness.

General, The more people you interact, the more closely you interact with them, and the longer that interaction lasts, the higher the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19.

If you choose to engage in public activities, you will continue to protect yourself with everyday preventative measures.
Have these items handy and use them when you go out: a mask, tissues, and hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if possible.
Whenever possible, avoid other people who are not wearing masks or ask others around you to wear masks.

Considerations for COVID-19 and Pregnancy

Based on what we know at this point pregnant people could be at increased risk for serious illnesses from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people. In addition, pregnant people with COVID-19 may be at increased risk of unwanted pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth.

Actions to be taken if you are pregnant

Don't skip your prenatal care appointments.
Limit your interactions with other people as much as possible.
Take precautions to avoid getting COVID-19 when interacting with others.
Make sure you have your medication available for at least 30 days.
Talk to your doctor about how to stay healthy and take care of yourself during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you don't have a health care provider, contact the nearest community health centerexternal symbol
Call your doctor if you have any questions about your health.
If you have a medical emergency, see a doctor right away.
Stress can be increased during this pandemic. Anxiety and fear can be overwhelming and provoke strong emotions. Learn more about stress and coping.
Learn more about how to reduce your risk of developing COVID-19.

Vaccines during pregnancy

Although there is no vaccine to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19, routine vaccines are an important part of protecting health. Receiving some vaccines like influenza (flu) and Tdap vaccines during pregnancy can help protect you and your baby. If you are pregnant you should continue to receive the recommended vaccines. Talk to your doctor about vaccine visits during pregnancy.

Prenatal and postpartum care

It is important to take care of yourself and your baby during pregnancy and after delivery.

Don't skip your prenatal or postpartum appointments. If you have concerns about attending your appointment due to COVID-19, speak to your doctor.

Ask your doctor what steps they take to separate healthy patients from potentially sick patients.
Some healthcare providers may choose to cancel or postpone some visits. Others may switch certain appointments to telemedicine visits, which are appointments made by phone or video. These decisions are based on the circumstances in your community as well as your individual care plan.
Call your doctor if you have an urgent medical question.
In an emergency, call 911 or contact your local emergency room. If you are not driving, call the emergency department on the way to explain that you are pregnant and have an emergency. You should have an infection prevention plan to keep you safe from COVID-19 if you need emergency care. Don't hesitate to get emergency care because of COVID-19.

Delivery locations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Delivering your baby is always safest with the supervision of trained health professionals. If you have any questions about the best place to deliver your baby, discuss them with your doctor.

Newborns from mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19

Much unknown is known about the risks of COVID-19 for newborns.

Newborns can become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 after being in close contact with an infected person.
Some babies tested positive for the virus shortly after they were born. It is not known whether these babies got the virus before, during, or after they were born.
Most newborns who tested positive for COVID-19 had mild or no symptoms and made a full recovery. However, there have been some reports of newborns with serious illness.
A small number of other problems, such as premature birth and other problems with pregnancy and childbirth, have been reported in babies born to mothers who tested positive for COVID-19. We don't know if these issues are virus related.

CDC recognizes that the ideal setting for caring for a healthy full-time newborn baby is in the mother's room while in hospital. Temporarily separating the newborn from a mother with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be considered to reduce the risk of the virus spreading to the newborn. The risks and benefits of temporarily separating the mother from her newborn should be discussed with the mother by her health team. Decisions about temporary separation should be made with the mother's wishes in mind. If the mother chooses to temporarily separate to reduce the risk of the virus spreading and wants to breastfeed, she should express breast milk and have a healthy caregiver who is not at high risk of serious illness from a COVID-19 bottle if possible breast milk .

If the mother does not opt for a temporary hospital separation with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, she should take precautions to prevent the virus from spreading to the newborn, including washing hands and wearing a mask if she is no further than 6 feet away from your newborn. The newborn should be kept as far away from the mother as possible, including the use of physical barriers (e.g., placing the newborn in an incubator).

Mothers who have been discharged from hospital but who have not met the isolation termination criteria can continue to separate from the newborn at home to reduce the risk of the virus spreading if a healthy caregiver is available. In the absence of a healthy caregiver, a mother with COVID-19 can continue to care for her child if, taking precautions (e.g. washing hands, wearing a mask), they are healthy enough.

Separation from the newborn can make it difficult for some new mothers to start or continue breastfeeding. Frequent squeezing or pumping by hand, ideally with a hospital-grade pump, is required to establish and build up the milk supply during the temporary separation. Pumping every 2-3 hours (at least 8-10 times in 24 hours, including at night), especially during the first few days, signals the breasts to produce milk and prevents clogged milk ducts and breast infections. Mothers who are unable to produce milk in the hospital after giving birth, or who need to temporarily stop breastfeeding, can contact qualified assistance from a lactation support provider. Additional information on relacting is available.

COVID-19 and breastfeeding

Mothers who want to breastfeed:

Breast milk protects against many diseases and is the best source of nutrition for most infants. Learn more about breastfeeding.
You should decide, together with your family and health care providers, whether and how to start or continue breastfeeding.
We don't exactly know if mothers with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to babies in their breast milk, but the limited data available suggest that it is not likely.
If you have COVID-19 and want to breastfeed:
- Wear a mask while breastfeeding and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before each feed.
If you have COVID-19 and want to express breast milk:
- Use a dedicated breast pump (not shared).
- Wear a mask while printing and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before touching pump or bottle parts and expressing breast milk.
- After each use, follow the recommendations for proper pump cleaning (Español) and clean all parts that come into contact with breast milk.
- Whenever possible, the expressed breast milk should be given to the infant by a healthy caregiver who does not have COVID-19, is not at high risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19 and lives in the same house.
Parents and other caregivers should follow the recommendations outlined in Unisolation for People with COVID-19 who are not in the healthcare sector.

Additional CDC resources to support infant nutrition include:

Other important information for new parents:

COVID-19 and children

There is much more to learn about how this disease affects children. While some children and infants have developed COVID-19, most of the illnesses have occurred in adults. Some reports suggest that infants under 1 year of age and those with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk of developing serious illnesses from COVID-19 than other children.

Children with COVID-19 generally have mild, cold-like symptoms such as fever, runny nose, and cough. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported in some children.
Children with certain underlying conditions, such as chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, severe heart disease, or a weak immune system may be at a higher risk of serious illness due to COVID-19. Call your child's doctor if you are concerned about your child's health or if your child has symptoms of COVID-19.
In an emergency, call 911 or contact your local emergency room. Emergency rooms have infection prevention plans to protect you and your child from COVID-19 if your child needs emergency care. Don't hesitate to get emergency care for your child because of COVID-19.

Face protection for newborns and young children

Plastic face shields for newborns and young children are NOT recommended. There is no data to support the use of infant face shields to protect against COVID-19 or other respiratory diseases. Infant face protection can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or accidental suffocation and strangulation. Infants, including newborns, move around frequently, which can increase the chances of their nose and mouth being blocked by the plastic face shield or foam components. The baby's movement can also cause the face shield to shift, resulting in strangulation of the strap.

For information on how to protect newborns from hospital illness with COVID-19, see the CDC's Considerations on Inpatient Healthcare Obstetrics. Additional information to help protect yourself and others, including newborns and infants, from COVID-19 diseases is also available.

Masks for children, parents and other caregivers

CDC recommends that everyone ages 2 and up wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth when in the ward. Do NOT put masks on babies or children under 2 years of age due to the risk of suffocation. Masks should also not be worn by people who have difficulty breathing, are unconscious, unable to move, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Parents and other caregivers should keep in mind that wearing a mask is no substitute for social distancing, frequent hand washing, or other everyday preventive measures. Please wear your mask in addition to other preventive measures. A mask is not intended to protect you, the wearer, but it can prevent you from passing the virus on to others. This is especially important if you are infected but don't have symptoms of COVID-19. Please remember that medical face masks and N95 respirators are reserved for medical staff and other first aiders.

Safe Sleep for Babies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents of infants may experience increased stress and fatigue, which can affect their infants' sleep practices. Safe sleep is an important part of infant health, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have a child, you can reduce your baby's risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related deaths by doing the following:

Lay your baby on his back for all sleep times – naps and at night.
Use a firm, flat sleeping surface, e.g. B. a mattress in a cot, which is covered with a fitted sheet.
Let the baby share your room, but not your bed. Your baby should not sleep on an adult bed, crib, air mattress, or couch or chair alone, with you, or with anyone else.
Keep soft linens such as blankets, pillows, bumper pads, and stuffed animals away from your baby's sleeping area.
Do not cover your baby's head or let your baby get too hot. Signs that your baby is getting too hot include if he is sweating or if his chest is feeling hot.
Do not smoke or let anyone smoke around your baby.

Well visits and routine vaccine visits for children during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, routine child visits and vaccines are still important.

Newborn visits. Ideally, newborn visits should be done in person so your pediatric doctor can review your baby's growth and diet, check your baby for jaundice, make sure your baby's newborn screening tests have been done, and perform repeat or follow-up tests if necessary necessary. During the newborn visit, your pediatric doctor will also review how you and your baby are overall. Newborn screening tests include a blood stain, hearing test, and a test for critical congenital heart defects. Learn more about newborn screening tests.

Well, kids visits. Your pediatric health care provider will monitor your child's development with good child visits. Track your child's developmental milestones with CDC's free Milestone Tracker app.

Vaccine visits. Vaccines are an important part of your child's health, especially if your child is younger than 2 years. Vaccines help maintain immunity before exposure to potentially life-threatening diseases. Although there is still no vaccine to protect against COVID-19, vaccines against diseases like measles, influenza (flu), whooping cough (pertussis), and other infectious diseases are important to your child's health. This will help prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ask your doctor what steps they take to separate healthy patients from potentially sick patients. Some healthcare providers may choose to delay visits such as child screening and routine vaccine visits. These decisions are based on the circumstances in your community and your child's individual care plan. Call your provider's office for information on upcoming appointments or when your child will be vaccinated.

To deal with stress

Pandemics can be stressful for everyone. Fear and fear of illness can be overwhelming and provoke strong emotions in both adults and children. Managing stress successfully will empower you, the people you care about, and your community.

Talk to your children about the pandemic. It is important to try to remain calm and provide information to children that is truthful and appropriate to their age and level of development. Children react differently to stressful situations than adults. CDC has resources to help you talk to your children about COVID-19.

Depression during and after pregnancy is common and can be treated. Postpartum depression is depression that can occur after having a baby. If you think you may have depression, contact your doctor as soon as possible. More information about depression during and after pregnancy.

Pregnant women and parents caring for young children may experience increased stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CDC offers resources to support stress and coping.