The main objective of the project is to prevent shortening of breastfeeding or refusal to vaccinate due to breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The work, which will be led by Aleksandra Wesołowska, MD, PhD, from the University Laboratory of Breast Milk and Lactation at the Department of Medical Biology of the Medical University of Warsaw and the Regional Human Milk Bank at the Holy Family Hospital in Warsaw, is the second recent project of the Medical University of Warsaw funded by intervention grants from the National Agency for Academic Exchange.
Our researchers, in collaboration with Prof. Anna David's team from the Institute for Women's Health in London, intend to determine the magnitude of adverse reactions to medical interventions, including vaccinations, during lactation and their effects on mother and child in the perinatal period. In addition, a COVID-19 vaccine surveillance study will be conducted in 100 breastfeeding women in Poland and a registry of vaccinated women will be established. The main long-term outcome of the project will be to update and standardize medical terminology on adverse effects of experimental therapies in terms of initiation and maintenance of lactation and breastfeeding.