Indirect effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the prevalence of breastfeeding: modeling its impact

Introduction: Breastfeeding has a protective effect against acute respiratory and diarrheal infections. There are psychological and social effects due to physical isolation in the population in the mother-child group. Objective: To assess the impact on infant mortality due to a decrease in the prevalence of breastfeeding during 2020 due to physical isolation due to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in Colombia Materials and methods: The population attributable risk approach was used, taking into account the prevalence of BF and its potential decrease associated with measures of physical isolation and the relative risk (RR) of the association between EBF and the occurrence of acute infections consequences in the growth (weight for height) of children under the age of five through a mathematical modeling program. Results: There is an increase of 11.39% in the number of cases with growth arrest in the age group of 6 to 11 months with a 50% decrease in breastfeeding prevalence;an increase in the number of cases of diarrhea between 1 and 5 months of age up from 5% (5.67%);and an increase in the number of deaths in children under 5 years (9.04%) with a 50% decrease in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusions: The lower prevalence of breastfeeding has an impact on infant morbidity and mortality in the short and medium-term. As a public health policy, current maternal and childcare strategies must be maintained in order to reduce risks in the pediatric population. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.