By Gretchen VogelScience's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.Do newborn babies need to be separated from mothers infected with the new coronavirus?
A growing number of families and doctors are facing this difficult question. The scant data available have led to apparently contradictory recommendations: Some health authorities, including in China and the United States, recommend isolation of newborns from their infected mothers; others, including the World Health Organization (WHO), strongly recommend breastfeeding and keeping mothers and babies together, while taking precautions such as the mother wearing a mask.More than 200 million pregnant women around the world are potentially at risk of infection with the new