Breast Milk Passes COVID-19 Antibodies to Infants

An observational study published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine on August 24, 2021, found breast milk of lactating mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 contains a supply of SARS-CoV-2 virus antibodies that may help protect nursing infants from the illness.

According to this new research from the University of Florida, when babies are born, their immune systems are underdeveloped, making it hard for them to fight infections independently.

They are also often too young to respond adequately to certain types of vaccines, stated Josef Neu, M.D., one of the study’s co-authors and a professor in the UF College of Medicine’s department of pediatrics, division of neonatology, in a related press statement.

During this vulnerable period, breast milk allows nursing mothers to provide infants with “passive immunity,” Dr. Neu explained.

“Think of breast milk as a toolbox full of all the different tools that help prepare the infant for life."

"Vaccination adds another tool to the toolbox, one that has the potential to be especially good at preventing COVID-19 illness,” Neu said.

“The results of our study strongly suggest that vaccines can help protect both mom and baby, another compelling reason for pregnant or lactating women to get vaccinated.”

The study was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021. For the study, researchers recruited twenty-one lactating health care workers who had never contracted COVID-19.

With that in mind, the research team continues to explore how breast milk containing COVID-19 antibodies gained through vaccination protects babies who consume it.

“We would like to know if infants who consume breast milk containing these (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies develop their own protection against COVID-19,” commented Joseph Larkin III, Ph.D., senior author of the study and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.

Unanswered questions aside, the researchers remain excited and encouraged by their initial results. 

“In addition, we would also like to know more about the antibodies themselves, such as how long they are present in breast milk and how effective they are at neutralizing the coronavirus.”

The study is published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine and was funded by the Children’s Miracle Network.