By Sampada Anuranjanee Khatiwada

Kathmandu, Aug. 8: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Binu Chhetri, 31, a new mother, was worried about how she would get her baby delivered without contracting the virus and without affecting her child's health.
"After the COVID-19 wrecked the world, I became very panicky about visiting hospital as hospitals are at high risk of being contaminated with the virus. I even consulted my doctor regarding it," said Chhetri. "My doctor said that breastfeeding was the key to boost immunity of infants. He said that I would keep my baby boy safe from the pandemic if I followed all the safety measures and breastfed him," she added.
Chhetri claims that the pandemic had changed her perspective towards motherhood as she had not considered breastfeeding three years ago when she gave birth to her first child.
She said she had believed that breastfeeding wasn’t an appropriate option for a working mother like her. "After reading a lot of blogs and articles on the internet about breastfeeding I was convinced that it wasn’t practical for a working mother. But the pandemic made me realise how having a strong immune system is the key to fight with viruses and breastfeeding is a way forward to build a child's immunity."
Like Chhetri, Anita Shrestha, 26, an expecting mother thinks that being pregnant in today's trying time is quite tough with the availability of technology. "We can have access to all the information about pregnancy and post-pregnancy at just one tap. This comes with both pros and cons as the chances are high of being misinformed or over informed at times," added Shrestha, whose delivery is two months away.
"I am aware of the fact that the internet exposes us with a lot of misinformation about breastfeeding but I am open to breastfeed my child. Breastfeeding ensures health benefits for both, mother and child. So why not opt for it? After all, it is a natural phenomenon," said Shrestha.
"The pandemic has certainly highlighted the importance of breastfeeding and how it is so," she added. "Breastfeeding is vital to charge baby's immune system and fight with virus and disease of any kind.
I strongly believe that every new mother should consider breastfeeding to ensure life-long good health of their child."
Dr. Uma Koirala, a nutritionist, said that many researches done across the world have proved that breast milk aids in boosting up the immune system of a baby.
"Breastfeeding continuously for six months and thereafter reduces the mortality and morbidity rate. It also creates a lifelong impact on the baby's heath," said Dr. Koirala. "A breastfed baby will have stronger immunity to fight against the virus and diseases throughout his/her life."
Dr. Koirala also stressed on taking the pandemic as an opportunity to promote breastfeeding and motivate new and expecting mothers to breastfeed their child. "The culture of breastfeeding has extensively diminished due to the change in lifestyle of people. As the COVID-19 scare has limited people's lives within their homes and even mothers are working from home, they have comparatively more spare time to breastfeed their baby."
Dr. Koirala added that this could be an appropriate time to inspire and motivate mothers to breastfeed their baby as mother's milk is all that a child needs to keep viruses and diseases at bay. "Adoption of safety measures like wearing masks, washing hands properly before breastfeeding and sanitising the areas surrounding the baby is imperative to keep the baby safe from virus infection during this unprecedented crisis," said Dr. Koirala.
The World Health Organisation has recommended that even mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection should be encouraged to begin or continue breastfeeding. Mothers should be counseled that the benefits of breastfeeding substantially outweigh the potential risks of transmission, says the WHO.