Welcome to the China Development Research Foundation

中文 Add to favourites Set homepage

Return list

Media Delegation Goes to Vietnam to Study Relevant Measures on Breastfeeding Legislation

From July 14 to 18, 2019, members of the breastfeeding project -- Li Jia, Zhang Ruoqi, Li Yutong -- and a number of major domestic media were invited by the international organization FHI360 to investigate specific measures and implementation of breastfeeding promoted by the Alive & Thrive initiative in Vietnam.


The Alive & Thrive initiative is a global nutrition initiative designed to save lives, prevent diseases, and ensure the health and development of mothers and infants. The project has covered Southeast Asian and African countries such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India and Nigeria.


In Da Nang, the delegation participated in a breastfeeding policy and legislative experience sharing seminar hosted by Alive & Thrive initiative staff to learn about the “Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Model”, the environmentally empowered Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Model and other theories and practices. The Vietnamese government worked closely with Alive & Thrive initiative, UNICEF and other stakeholders to launch breastfeeding community intervention projects in 15 provinces from 2010 to 2014. Through 4 years' intervention, the rate of six-month pure breastfeeding of these regions increased from 19% to 62%.


△ Breastfeeding Policy and Legislative Experience Sharing Seminar


Subsequently, the delegation visited Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children to learn about the implementation of Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) and Human Milk Bank Services. Starting from 2014, Da Nang Women's and Children's Hospital, with the help of the Alive & Thrive initiative, has been improving breastfeeding and early newborn care practices to ensure that newborns make skin contact with their mothers within half an hour after birth to help them successfully establish breastfeeding. In addition, in order to ensure skin-to-skin contact between the premature baby and the mother, the hospital also adopted a kangaroo nursing method, which puts the premature baby on the father / mother's chest, so that the premature baby can feel the warmth of the parents. During the visit, the delegation found that many of those who were taking care of premature babies were "Kangaroo daddy". What’s more, the hospital set up the first human milk bank pilot in Vietnam to ensure that vulnerable babies such as premature and low birth weight babies can get breast milk from breast milk banks. There are currently two breast milk banks operating in Vietnam. Medical staff have undergone rigorous training in testing, pasteurizing, storing and tracking donated breast milk in breast milk banks.


△ Premature Infant Care Room of Da Nang Women's and Children's Hospital

△ A Dad Doing Kangaroo Care


In the afternoon, the media delegation visited the Little Sun Infant and Child Feeding Service Community Counseling Center supported by Alive & Thrive. The plan is strongly supported by Vietnamese authorities and has established more than 1,100 counselling centers at community level nationwide. Newborns’ parents can ask for information about breastfeeding at a community service center or perform scientific breastfeeding with the advice and guidance of a physician.


△ "Little Sun" Infant and Child Feeding Community Counseling Center in Da Nang


Then, the delegation went to Hanoi to attend seminars on breastfeeding-related laws, especially the Advertising Law and the Labor Law, at the Vietnam Institute for Legislative Studies on July 17. Participants included relevant legal experts from the Institute for Legislative Studies, relevant leaders and experts directly involved in the amendment of the law from the Ministry of Health, the General Confederation of Labor and the Ministry of Social Security. Director Truong of the Institute and the delegation shared interesting stories of Vietnam's legislation on breast milk substitute marketing and the legislation to extend maternity leave to 6 months, letting the delegation understand the difficulties facing the law amendment. Director Truong said that breastfeeding is a child's right, and the government has a responsibility to promulgate relevant policies and ensure this right. The melamine incident that occurred in China that year drastically contributed to the revision of Vietnamese legislation, but in China, it has instead contributed to the rise of foreign infant formula manufacturers. Journalists from China’s mainstream media talked directly with the staff of the Institute to inquire about the economic and social factors affecting the changes in breastfeeding policies and to learn more about the secrets of the success of breastfeeding legislation in Vietnam.


△ Vietnam Institute for Legislative Studies of the National Assembly


On the last day, "Betibuti" of Ha Noi Breastfeeding Mothers’ Group conducted a group visit to mothers to share with the delegation the experience of using social media to promote breastfeeding. The mother who organized the visit is an executive at a bank in New York. She set up a community on Facebook to share knowledge on breastfeeding. In 2017, the entire group extended to 250,000 members. They have conducted free training activities, produced videos on the effects of Order 100, and published bestsellers in breastfeeding. The organizers introduced us to a management method called "CASE", which aims to operate the social media community with a corporate management method. These experiences fully show that the potential of social power is huge. New media plays an active role in the community and has formed an effective interpersonal and organizational mobilization bond.