A North Carolina mom made an exciting discovery about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Katy Robertson said after she received the vaccine, she was able to pass the antibodies onto her 10 month-old son through breast milk. Medical experts said it was already known that moms who are naturally infected can give antibodies through breast milk, and now this case demonstrates vaccines can do that too.
Now WCNC Charlotte is taking a deeper look at whether the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for moms who are breastfeeding.
To answer that question, WCNC Charlotte turned to several experts including Dr. David Priest with Novant Health, Dr. Arin Piramzadian with StarMed, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Katy Robertson who is a nurse practitioner with a uniquely personal experience.
As a nurse practitioner and a new mom, Katy Robertson did her research, but she couldn’t find the exact answer.
“There’s not many studies on breastfeeding moms,” said Robertson. “I was hesitant at first actually to get the vaccine because I was breastfeeding.”
However, after consulting with her doctors she decided to take a shot, literally.
“We went with it, and said we would do the vaccines, and we would follow antibodies on the baby to see if it was crossing over in the milk,” Robertson said.
After her first COVID-19 vaccine, Robertson said she had antibodies, but her 10-month-old Jameson did not. Robertson said she confirmed with a test that her breast milk also registered antibodies. Sure enough, 12 days after her second dose of the vaccine, she said her baby had antibodies too.
