Donating my vaccinated breastmilk gave me hope during lockdown
I love maternity leave, but staying home during a pandemic with my baby and preschooler for more than a year left me with a weird sense of nearly-constant helplessness. Playing with my kids and binging Netflix after bedtime was lovely, sure, but I didn?t feel like I was contributing to the larger world. It was not until I had my ?Covid baby,? got vaccinated, and had the chance to donate my breast milk to an antibody study that I finally felt hope.Â
I got my first dose of a COVID mRNA vaccine in April, when my son was 10 months old. I was so heartened to see so many new parents lining up for their vaccines, with their babies in tow. These tired young moms and dads were getting vaccinated for their own protection and for the public good, even when it wasn?t an easy system for anyone to figure out, and even when the lines were long. The second that vaccine was in me, I felt like I had a superpower. I could finally do something to keep my baby safe. Soon after, I jumped at the chance to participate in a post-vaccine breastmilk antibody study through Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
The milk study I joined was geared towards finding out if antibodies to SARS-COV-2 are secreted into the breastmilk of those who are recently vaccinated. They?re also interested in understanding when antibodies first appear in a nursing mom?s breastmilk, and how long they continue to be present.Â
After receiving my first dose of vaccine, I hand-expressed (I hate pumping) 15ml once a day for seven...
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