Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting normal life globally, every area of life is touched. The pandemic demands quick action and as new information emerges, reliable synthesises and guidelines for care are urgently needed. Breastfeeding protects mother and child; its health benefits are undisputed and based on evidence. To plan and support breastfeeding within the current pandemic, two areas need to be understood: 1) the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 as it applies to breastfeeding and 2) the protective properties of breastfeeding, including the practice of skin-to-skin care. This review aims to summarise how to manage breastfeeding during COVID-19. The summary was used to create guidelines for healthcare professionals and mothers. Methods: Current publications on breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic were reviewed to inform guidelines for clinical practice. Results: Current evidence states that the Coronavirus is not transmitted via breastmilk. Breastfeeding benefits outweigh possible risks during the COVID-19 pandemic and may even protect the infant and mother. General infection control measures should be in place and adhered to very strictly. Conclusions: Breastfeeding should be encouraged, mothers and infant dyads should be cared for together, and skin-to-skin contact ensured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. If mothers are too ill to breastfeed, they should still be supported to express their milk, and the infant should be fed by a healthy individual. Guidelines, based on this current evidence, were produced and can be distributed to health care facilities where accessible information is needed.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breastfeeding support services and continuation rates. Methods: Electronic searches were undertaken in seven databases: Academic Search Complete, Springer Nature Journals, CINAHL Medline, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Masterfile premier, and SocINDEX. Publications following the COVID-19 pandemic between January 2020 and March 2022 were searched for using the following keywords: impact or effect or influence and breastfeeding support and breastfeeding continuation and COVID-19 or coronavirus. Fifteen studies were included for investigation and extracted to identify seven themes related to breastfeeding support during COVID-19. Results: Factors which impacted breastfeeding support during the COVID-19 pandemic included separation, lack of skin-to-skin contact, insufficient support, online breastfeeding support, the impact of the pandemic on breastfeeding rates and experiences, fears of the pandemic, and the need for additional support. The pandemic mostly influenced breastfeeding support negatively, with a small exception occurring where some mothers experienced lockdown as positive since it protected the mother-infant dyad from unwanted visitors. Virtual breastfeeding support was introduced in many contexts; however, practitioners and mothers reported that this could not replace the need for face-to-face support. Conclusion: Breastfeeding is a lifesaving intervention, especially in the face of a disruption such as a pandemic. This work highlights the need for clear, consistent, and evidence-based information about risks, and for key practices to be maintained including not separating mothers and infants, promoting skin-to-skin contact, and ensuring availability of high-quality breastfeeding support.

Previous research on the fears and anxieties of expectant mothers has focused mostly on their fears about giving birth rather than parenting. This study aims to describe mothers’ fears and concerns about parenthood during pregnancy and to examine the similarities and differences in the perspectives of primiparous and multiparous mothers. The qualitative research for this study was conducted in three postpartum units in Finland and focused on the responses to an open-ended question about parenting fears and concerns that was part of a questionnaire given to 250 mothers after they had given birth. The responses from the 128 mothers who answered this question were subject to inductive content analysis. Fears and concerns on parenthood included worries about coping with the future and everyday life with their new baby, the psychological burden of parenthood, their maternal resources and self-efficacy, meeting their baby’s needs, their baby’s health, concerns about their relationship with their partner and financial issues. Primiparous and multiparous mothers shared many of the same concerns, but some differences emerged. The findings contribute an interesting perspective to the social debate about declining birth rates and their psychosocial causes. Further studies are needed to examine the fears and concerns of younger adults, and even teens, about parenthood.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a behavioral infant calming technique to support mothers' parenting self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction. The methods of this randomized controlled trial are based on the CONSORT guidelines. Data were collected during March 1 to May 20, 2019, from 3 postpartum units in 1 university-level hospital in Finland. A total of 250 mothers agreed to participate, of which 120 were randomly allocated to the intervention group and 130 to the control group. All mothers completed a baseline questionnaire before randomization. Mothers in the intervention group were taught the 5 S's infant calming technique. The control group received standard care. Follow-up data were collected 6 to 8 weeks postpartum. The primary outcome measure was the change in parenting self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction scores over the follow-up period. The intervention group showed significantly larger improvements in parenting self-efficacy scores. There were no statistically significant differences in median improvements in parenting satisfaction. The 5 S's infant calming technique is feasible. These study findings may assist midwifery and neonatal nursing staff to support mothers and families during the postpartum period, whether the infants are fussy or not.