A short-term follow-up study on breastfeeding practices, growth parameters and immunization practices among babies born to COVID-19 positive mothers in a tertiary care hospital.

This study examines the impact of maternal COVID-19 infection on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates, routine neonatal immunization, and growth parameters in a tertiary care hospital in Northern India. Neonates born to COVID-19 positive mothers had significantly lower EBF rates at three months (45.1%) compared to those born to COVID-19 negative mothers (96.7%), with improvements observed after the implementation of national guidelines by the National Neonatology Forum, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, and Indian Academy of Pediatrics (NNF-FOGSI-IAP). Additionally, infants of COVID-19 positive mothers experienced significantly more delays (>7 days) in routine immunization, a disruption that persisted despite guideline changes. No significant differences were found in growth parameters between the two groups at three months. The findings highlight the pandemic’s disruption of breastfeeding and immunization practices and underscore the need for supportive infection control policies that promote early breastfeeding and sustained immunization efforts.