Vietnam’s health authorities are trying to increase the rate of infants breast-bred during the first six months of their lives in Vietnam, which is now only 19.6% or the lowest level in Southeast Asia. Nemat Hajeebhoy, director of the Alive & Thrive Project in Vietnam, attributed the situation to the fact that many women have not been aware that breast milk is the best food for newborn babies, or they face difficulty in breastfeeding their children. A survey of 3,000 women who gave birth at Hung Vuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City from February to May 2014 shows that 100% of these women brought baby formula with them when they arrived at the infirmary, Dr. Huynh Xuan Nghiem, Hung Vuong deputy director, said. This is because these women did not believe they would have enough breast milk for their babies, Dr. Nghiem said at a press briefing to launch the World Breastfeeding Week 2014. As much as 50% of these women thought that they would have no breast milk during the first two days after giving birth, so they fed their babies with formula milk during those days, he added. In 2013, milk makers and traders spent more than $35 million on advertising their powdered formula products in Vietnam. Save The Children, an international non-governmental organization that promotes children’s rights and helps support children around the world, warned that only one-fifth of infants in Vietnam are exclusively breastfed in their first six months. (VietnamPlus Aug 1)
