Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences

COVID-19, Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding

Researchers from the University of Idaho and Washington State University are recruiting COVID-19+ mothers from around the country to study infection risk and immunity in infants. Findings will help us understand how the virus affects the health and immune responses of mothers and infants, and whether infant feeding practices play a role.

Volunteers must meet the following eligibility criteria

Be at least 18 years old
Have an infant two years old or younger
Have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week or are awaiting test results

Volunteer mothers will self-collect biological samples over two months from themselves and their infants. Samples will include finger-prick blood spots, stool and breast milk (as applicable). We will test samples for the virus and antibodies. Mothers will be interviewed by phone about their family's health, COVID-19 exposures and symptoms, and infant care and feeding practices over the course of the study.

All materials needed for the study will be mailed to you, and all samples will be shipped back to the University of Idaho. All costs are covered by the study.

Also, if you are a breastfeeding woman and have frozen milk from before and right after you were diagnosed with COVID-19 that you would like to donate for research purposes, please contact us.

Women living “anywhere in the United States” can participate!

For more information, please contact the following

Phone: 509-330-6701
Email: infant_feeding@uidaho.edu
Website: wsu.edu/covid-19-infant-feeding

Background

Little is known about the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) from mothers to infants, from infants to mothers and within families that contain women and their infants. In particular, and of great interest to us, is the fact that almost nothing is known about whether lactating women can transmit the virus to their nursing offspring via breast milk and/or via the process of breastfeeding. Furthermore, we do not know when mothers and infants begin to produce antibodies to COVID-19 after one or both is infected. We invite you to join our team and be part of this incredible and timely study.

Funding for this research has been provided by a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and an in-kind donation of breast pumps by Medela.

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