Consequences of Early Separation of Maternal-Newborn Dyad in Neonates Born to SARS-CoV-2 Positive Mothers: An Observational Study

Conti, Maria Giulia; Natale, Fabio; Stolfi, Ilaria; Pedicino, Roberto; Boscarino, Giovanni; Ajassa, Camilla; Cardilli, Viviana; Ciambra, Giovanni Luca; Guadalupi, Laura; Favata, Paola; Repole, Paola; De Luca, Francesca; Zacco, Giulia; Brunelli, Roberto; Terrin, Gianluca

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection continues its spread all over the world, data on perinatal management of the maternal-infant dyad are urgent. We performed an observational study to describe the effects of the early separation of the maternal-infant dyad, in case of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. We reported the medical records for 37 neonates born to 37 SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers in a setting of separation of the dyad after birth. Data on neonatal infection, clinical condition, and breastfeeding rate were recorded until the first month of life. No maternal deaths were recorded; 37.8% of women had at least one pregnancy-related complication. We reported a high adherence to recommended safety measures after discharged with 84.8% of the mothers using at least one personal protective device and 51.5% using all the protective devices. We reported one case of vertical transmission and no cases of horizontal transmission. However, the separation of the dyad had a negative impact on breastfeeding because only 23.5% of the newborns received exclusively human milk during the first month of life. Despite early separation of the dyad protecting the newborns from possible horizontal transmission of SARS-CoV-2, it negatively affects breastfeeding during the first months of life.