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Do everything you can to avoid them being separated in the first place
Breaking the bond
Thousands of infant deaths worldwide caused by COVID separation policies .
By Eleanor Campbell
Dr Karleen Gribble , associate professor at Western Sydney University , has spent the last year studying the different COVID-19 separation policies in maternity wards across the globe . According to her research , the impact of changing health advice and an absence of skin-to-skin contact has led to severe health implications for both mothers and newborns .
As the pandemic continues , routine mother-baby separation continues to occur in maternity wards across several countries , including the United States , China and Indonesia .
“ We know that there have been thousands of infants die because they ’ ve been separated from their mothers unnecessarily ,” she said .
“ They estimated in low and middle income countries that you would get at least a hundred times more deaths from separating mothers who had COVID-19 from their infants .”
To date , there is little evidence to suggest that newborn babies are harmed when born to women who have or are suspected of having contracted the virus .
Researchers have indicated the serious effects of early maternal separation , which is projected to continue with the global spread of COVID-19 .
“ The biggest implication is for the mother-infant relationship ,” said Dr Gribble .
“ We know that when mothers and infants are separated it makes it really difficult for the mother emotionally , but also that interruption of that early bonding and early relationship building can be quite significant .”
A rise in child abuse cases in other countries during lockdown has drawn attention to the vital role of stable relationships and familial bonding practices .
“ I did find last year in the UK , because they had such a big wave early on , that separation was happening and all sorts of terrible things ,” said Dr Gribble
“ They had increased reports of infants being physically abused , and a 20 per cent increase to their child protection services .”
Currently , in Australia public maternity wards do not recommend separating mother from child after birth .
During the beginning of the pandemic some private hospitals in the country did encourage separation , which has raised concerns for the children born during that period .
“ One of the private hospitals in Victoria during the lockdown last year was only allowing two one hour visits a day , so that sort of restriction is really significant in terms of breastfeeding and maternal mental health ,” Dr Gribble said .
In a recent global survey , two-thirds of healthcare workers stated they would not permit mothers who have or are suspected of having COVID-19 to touch their newborn babies .
Nearly one-quarter of respondents said they would not allow breastfeeding , even by an uninfected caregiver .
As a crucial pillar of early health , the process of breastfeeding has become riddled with challenges for mothers visiting maternity wards around the world .
Policies prohibiting immediate skinto-skin contact within the first hour of birth have led to significant challenges in newborn healthcare .
“ It ’ s a difficult enough thing to have a sick baby , but to have a sick baby and be separated from them and trying to produce milk manually because you can ’ t be there with your baby , I mean , it ’ s tough .”
Other than the key physical benefits it provides , most studies show that breastfeeding plays a critical role on early development of a baby ’ s cognition , behaviour and overall social and mental health .
In Australia , hospitalisation rates for infants that are fully formula fed from birth are three to five times greater versus those that are fully breastfed .
According to Dr Gribble , women are also reporting having increased difficulties accessing postpartum support , which is further disrupting these critical early bonding practices .
“ They ’ ve been wanting to get women out of hospital as quickly as possible once they ’ ve had their baby , for good reason .
“ But sometimes they ’ re then being discharged into situations where they can ’ t actually access support .”
“ The other concerning aspect of this is that where you don ’ t have visitors , where infants don ’ t have mothers , that means that unless the hospital increases staffing levels those infants aren ’ t going to be getting the same interaction with an adult .”
The best course of action for practitioners in situations where babies are separated from their mothers , according to Dr Gribble , is to initiate and promote skinto-skin contact .
“ First of all , do everything you can to avoid them being separated in the first place .
“ When mothers and infants are being separated , the best thing health workers can do is to support them when they are reunited ,” she said .
“ I also think normalising their experience is also really important to actually recognise that what they ’ ve experienced has been a trauma and a loss , and that it can take some time to recover and that ’ s quite normal .” ■
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