At the event (Photo: Alive & Thrive) Quang Ninh (VNS/VNA) - The Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital in QuangNinh province became thefirst hospital in Northern Vietnam to be recognised as a Centre of Excellencefor Breastfeeding at a ceremony on July 28.
On the same day, the hospitalalso launched its Human Milk Bank and a specialised clinic providing infant andyoung child feeding counselling to parents and other caregivers.
“Integrating threepro-breastfeeding interventions at once, the hospital shows responsibility anddetermination in protecting, supporting and promoting breastfeeding,” saidRoger Mathisen, Regional Director for Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia.
“The Centre of Excellence modeland Human Milk Bank assure that every child can access breastmilk during theirhospital stay, and the counseling clinic equips mothers with the necessaryknowledge and skills to continue breastfeeding after discharge. This is a goodpractice that needs to be scaled up.”
To become a Centre ofExcellence for Breastfeeding, the hospital passed a rigorous assessment by theMinistry of Health. The hospital also received positive feedback from mothersabout the neonatal care services they experienced.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Vinh, Head of the Maternal and ChildHealth Department of the Ministry of Health, said that the Quang Ninh Obstetrics and PediatricsHospital has made impressive progress in maternal and newborn care services.
“After only one year, the rateof children who receive skin-to-skin contact consistently for 90 minutes immediatelyafter birth has increased from 59 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 84 percentin second quarter of 2020; the rate of early breastfeeding after delivery andexclusive breastfeeding during their hospital stay is also high – respectivelyat 88 percent and 85 percent,” said Vinh.
The hospital’s achievements specificallyensure nutrition counselling for pregnant women and caregivers with smallchildren; a friendly childbirth room with family members accompanying themothers while in labour; early essential newborn care including immediateskin-to-skin contact for 90 minutes and early breastfeeding for healthynewborns; kangaroo mother care for premature, low-weight and sick babies; andsafe, screened and lifesaving pasteurised human milk for newborns whocannot access their own mother’s milk.
The Quang Ninh Human Milk Bank is the third of its kind in the country and the first in Northern Vietnam.
“The Human Milk Bank was established toensure that the babies who are unable to access breastmilk from their ownmothers for any number of reasons can still reap the enormous benefits ofbreastmilk, including boosting their immune systems and protecting them fromvarious ailments and diseases,” said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Director of the Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital.
“I was consulted about my own nutrition andadvised about how to breastfeed during one of my prenatal visits,” said Nguyen Ngoc Han, one of the first 18 human milk donors.
“I remember the moment when my child wasfirst placed on my chest after birth, and was so excited to breastfeed for thefirst time.
"No formula can replace breastmilk. Thatis why I donated breast milk to the milk bank with the hope that more babieslike mine will get the best nutrition and grow up healthy.”
Human milk donors are screened andcounselled, and asked to make a long-term commitment to breast milk donation.Donated breast milk is tested, pasteurised and preserved according to strictprocedures to ensure safety and quality.
The human milk bank is capable of providingpasteurised breast milk to 1,000 premature, underweight and sick babies in thehospital and another 20,000 vulnerable babies in the province.
The Centre of Excellence for BreastfeedingInitiative has been developed and implemented by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health,provincial Departments of Health with support from Alive & Thrive and IrishAid, encouraging health facilities to create and maintainbreastfeeding-friendly environments by practising early essential newborn careand supporting breastfeeding./.
On the same day, the hospitalalso launched its Human Milk Bank and a specialised clinic providing infant andyoung child feeding counselling to parents and other caregivers.
“Integrating threepro-breastfeeding interventions at once, the hospital shows responsibility anddetermination in protecting, supporting and promoting breastfeeding,” saidRoger Mathisen, Regional Director for Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia.
“The Centre of Excellence modeland Human Milk Bank assure that every child can access breastmilk during theirhospital stay, and the counseling clinic equips mothers with the necessaryknowledge and skills to continue breastfeeding after discharge. This is a goodpractice that needs to be scaled up.”
To become a Centre ofExcellence for Breastfeeding, the hospital passed a rigorous assessment by theMinistry of Health. The hospital also received positive feedback from mothersabout the neonatal care services they experienced.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Vinh, Head of the Maternal and ChildHealth Department of the Ministry of Health, said that the Quang Ninh Obstetrics and PediatricsHospital has made impressive progress in maternal and newborn care services.
“After only one year, the rateof children who receive skin-to-skin contact consistently for 90 minutes immediatelyafter birth has increased from 59 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 84 percentin second quarter of 2020; the rate of early breastfeeding after delivery andexclusive breastfeeding during their hospital stay is also high – respectivelyat 88 percent and 85 percent,” said Vinh.
The hospital’s achievements specificallyensure nutrition counselling for pregnant women and caregivers with smallchildren; a friendly childbirth room with family members accompanying themothers while in labour; early essential newborn care including immediateskin-to-skin contact for 90 minutes and early breastfeeding for healthynewborns; kangaroo mother care for premature, low-weight and sick babies; andsafe, screened and lifesaving pasteurised human milk for newborns whocannot access their own mother’s milk.
The Quang Ninh Human Milk Bank is the third of its kind in the country and the first in Northern Vietnam.
“The Human Milk Bank was established toensure that the babies who are unable to access breastmilk from their ownmothers for any number of reasons can still reap the enormous benefits ofbreastmilk, including boosting their immune systems and protecting them fromvarious ailments and diseases,” said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Director of the Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital.
“I was consulted about my own nutrition andadvised about how to breastfeed during one of my prenatal visits,” said Nguyen Ngoc Han, one of the first 18 human milk donors.
“I remember the moment when my child wasfirst placed on my chest after birth, and was so excited to breastfeed for thefirst time.
"No formula can replace breastmilk. Thatis why I donated breast milk to the milk bank with the hope that more babieslike mine will get the best nutrition and grow up healthy.”
Human milk donors are screened andcounselled, and asked to make a long-term commitment to breast milk donation.Donated breast milk is tested, pasteurised and preserved according to strictprocedures to ensure safety and quality.
The human milk bank is capable of providingpasteurised breast milk to 1,000 premature, underweight and sick babies in thehospital and another 20,000 vulnerable babies in the province.
The Centre of Excellence for BreastfeedingInitiative has been developed and implemented by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health,provincial Departments of Health with support from Alive & Thrive and IrishAid, encouraging health facilities to create and maintainbreastfeeding-friendly environments by practising early essential newborn careand supporting breastfeeding./.
VNA
