The benefits of breastfeeding for newborns have short- and long-term repercussions. In the short term, breastfeeding assists in the development of acquired immunity and enhances the cognitive development and growth process (Victora et al., 2016; World Health Organization, 2017). In the long term, it reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood, such as systemic arterial hypertension, diabetes, and obesity (Victora et al., 2016; World Health Organization, 2017).

The increase in breastfeeding rates contributes to reducing infant mortality due to respiratory and digestive infections (Victora et al., 2016). Strategies such as prenatal care contribute to approaching and guiding pregnant women about breastfeeding and its benefits, increasing breastfeeding rates (Mangrio et al., 2018).

Despite the increase in the breastfeeding rate, driven by the adoption of strategies such as the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and the expansion of Milk Banks, the indicators are not yet in line with the WHO recommendation (Boccolini et al., 2017)

Breastfeeding indicators, such as breastfeeding in the first hour of life, are used to measure the feeding practice of newborns and children, enabling a description of the long-term trends and the elaboration or promotion of strategies (World Health Organization, 2021).

Despite all the incentives to support breastfeeding, it has not yet been possible to reach better rates in the nationwide indicators. The most recent challenge faced was the new coronavirus. In December 2019, a new coronavirus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) was identified, which spread rapidly around the world generating a public health emergency and, in March 2020, a pandemic state was declared (World Health Organization, 2020).

At the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it was thought about suspending breastfeeding in contaminated mothers, as was the case in China (Chen et al., 2020; Karimi-Zarchi et al., 2020). However, when measuring the contamination risk and the benefits of breastfeeding, it was noticed that the benefits outdo the risks, thus recommending maintaining breastfeeding (Santiago et al., 2020, World Health Organization, 2020)).

The vertical transmission risk was discarded after conducting studies with infected mothers; however, the horizontal transmission risk remained (Karimi-Zarchi et al., 2020). To avoid transmission, protective measures were adopted for newborns: in cases of mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, it is necessary to keep the newborn crib at least one and a half meters away from the mother; continuous mask use; constant hand hygiene, mainly before touching the newborns; and avoiding coughing, talking and sneezing during breastfeeding, changing the mask immediately after these events (Calil et al., 2020; Walker et al., 2020).

The mother-newborn dyad is at an increased risk of early weaning due to lack of encouragement in the first postpartum hours and to the incipient implementation of the guidelines used to support and stimulate breastfeeding during hospitalization (Gonçalves-Ferri et al., 2021). The emergence of the new coronavirus generated uncertainties about its repercussions on maternal-child health, in addition to challenges for the institutions to adapt to the new care protocols in breastfeeding, as well as for professionals to face the new health demands.

In addition to that, the pandemic resulted in less care provided to maternal-child health due to inadequate staffing given the new health demands (Takemoto et al., 2022). Allied to this, the divergent information conveyed to women in the perinatal period generated uncertainties about breastfeeding safety during the pandemic (Brown & Shenker, 2021).

When considering the essentiality of breastfeeding in the first days of life, both for the success of exclusive breastfeeding and for the growth and development of the individual (Victora et al., 2016), it is necessary to analyze breastfeeding and factors that positively influence the first hour of life, during hospitalization and at discharge in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

The original value of this study lies in the exploration of breastfeeding practices and influencing factors during the early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, contributing valuable insights that have been underexplored in the context of health emergencies.