Any breastfeeding healthcare professionals?

[pinguwings]

I am completely torn. I am nursing COVID positive patients on nearly every shift. We have full PPE and I have been lucky so far to have not caught it. I have vulnerable family who I am not seeing. I want this vaccine and have been offered it on Jan 4th.

However I am breastfeeding my 11 month old. She is thriving. She is settled. Neither of us are ready to wean.I fed my older daughter till she was two.

The advice is that breastfeeding women should not have the vaccination. (From all my further reading this is just due to lack of research, there is an absolutely minimal risk of anything being transferred via breast milk.)

I am desperately torn. Do I wean and be vaccinated? Or do I continue putting myself and family at risk every day?

Is anyone else in a similar dilemma?

From that article, this one sentence sums it up for me: "To date, no plausible biological mechanism for how an inactivated, recombinant vaccine would cause harm to a breastfed baby has been proposed."
Probably with a baby under 6 months or who was frail, I'd be more cautious, but having a robust toddler the approach to risk looks different. I'd be interested to know if people are directly asked if they're breastfeeding.

I'm a paramedic so working with covid patients and cev patients. I'm breastfeeding my 2.10 DD. I intend to carry on breastfeeding and have the vaccine either when DD weans naturally, when the vaccine is signed off safe for breastfeeding or if there is a significant change in viralance that makes covid a threat to me (I'm low risk currently).

Some may think this is selfish, but I have given so much of myself to my job/patients over the years (risking things like a career ending back injuring every shift) that I will not give up my one opportunity to breastfeed my DD who is an only child and will be remaining so.

Pregnant then Screwed recently wrote about this issue on Instagram and there was a lot of bizarre backlash. There’s a woman in the comments claiming to have had the vaccination despite telling her doctor she was breastfeeding. I am curious if she is telling the truth; it’s huge if she is.

Wendy Jones and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers are now saying there are ‘strong indications’ of a UK policy shift next week in line with the USA that will allow women to choose to have the vaccine and continue breastfeeding. Fingers crossed!

@ButterfliesFlyingBy that's amazing news, fingers crossed 🤞

That would be amazing! Apparently emails have gone out at work for us to book slots in January. I doubt there will be any left by the time I’m back in.

Fingers crossed for some good news 🤞🏻

I really hope they give the go ahead for us to have it if breastfeeding. I could have booked my vaccine for early jan (paeds nurse) but can’t as still feeding my 8 month old. Feels very strange to have it within reach but not quite!

Updated info re: vaccine being ok with breastfeeding 🙂
www.gov.uk/government/news/oxford-universityastrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-approved?fbclid=IwAR3fbaqlWmVl69Wwg_Dc-DxY_iNfhoYQ60sVYt8hfCVSwKBb0yUQR1juNt4

Could you skip breastfeeding for a couple of days post vaccine? At 11 months baby and your supply should be fine without it you can pump beforehand if dc won't take cows milk.

@CovidCakeConundrum there is no need

Here is the updated advice:
“Pregnancy and women who are breastfeeding - the vaccine should only be considered for use in pregnancy when the potential benefits outweigh any potential risks for the mother and baby. Women should discuss the benefits and risks of having the vaccine with their healthcare professional and reach a joint decision based on individual circumstances. Women who are breastfeeding can also be given the vaccine. This advice is in line with pregnancy and breastfeeding advice for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine.”

@Frolicacid yes I saw this today, brilliant news!

Delighted about this update - thanks for posting

@pinguwings @MumOfOneAndAHalf it’s so nice to have some good news. And the best buy is that it came on the day I got my invite to book from work. I’ll be having the vaccine next week 🙂

I am an ITU consultant and am still breastfeeding my 12 month old. I got the vaccine. I read the information, weighed up the risks and felt that on balance, it was better for me to get the vaccine. We are planning on trying for baby number 3 in a few months, so also wanted to get it out of the way, and not get covid while pregnant. There were so many threads on a physician's facebook group about this, many of us deciding to take the vaccine, mostly of the basis that other vaccines are deemed safe in breastfeeding, if you actually get covid then you are encouraged to continue breastfeeding, that the vaccine isn't a live vaccine, and that by the time this vaccine (which apparently destabilises if not kept at -70 degrees celcius) travels through my 36 degree celsius body, enters my blood stream, gets into my breastmilk, travels through my babies digestive system and then absorbed into gut, then into their bloodstream, if any is left, it will be a tiny tiny amount.The CDC was also at the time, starting to say it was safe. To mitigate any risks, I pumped for a token 2-3 breastfeeds post vaccine and dumped that milk. There's no evidence for doing that, but made me feel like I'd done something!

Such good news about the advice change! And @ICUDoc thanks for the interesting post.

Thanks ICU doc. Really helpful and interesting post.