Can mothers get COVID-19 vaccine while breastfeeding? UK suggests this

The National Health Service (NHS) of the UK has advised lactating mothers to not get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus till they stop breastfeeding.

This caution by the NHS has received criticism from several Women's rights and breastfeeding organisatons. Many believe this warning has been provided without any proof and forces women to choose between the health of their baby and their own wellbeing.

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NHS, till now, has not been able to provide any evidence about the COVID-19 vaccine being unsafe for new mothers. "There’s no evidence it’s unsafe if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. But more evidence is needed before you can be offered the vaccine," NHS claims.

However, the NHS website also adds that the warning is just a precaution. "precautionary until additional evidence is available to support the use of this vaccine in pregnancy and breastfeeding," the website reads.

As per the data reported by local media, nearly 46 per cent mothers in the UK were breastfeeding their babies — aged between 6-8 weeks — during 2018-2019.

This warning, if passed, as a rule, can affect hundreds of thousands of mothers across the country, including tens of thousands of frontline workers who nurse patients and their kids together.

Experts believe that while the NHS is simply trying to be cautious, more research should have been carried out on this before scaring the general public, and creating an atmosphere of panic.

The UK governments website urges pregnant women, too, to avoid getting vaccinated. "If you are pregnant you should not be vaccinated – you can be vaccinated after your pregnancy is over," the website reads.

"If you think you may be pregnant you should delay vaccination until you are sure you are not," it continued. The government has also advised women to delay getting the vaccine if they are planning a baby in the next three months, and also if they became pregnant after the first pregnancy.