After more than 10 years of infertility, Ms. Hoang Lan (37 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) had a hard time getting pregnant. At the 28th week of pregnancy, she was diagnosed with amniotic fluid leakage and was at risk of premature birth. After continuous monitoring at the hospital, she gave birth at the 29th week. Due to premature birth, the baby received special care after birth.
At this time, Ms. Lan still had no milk to breastfeed her baby, so the only source of breast milk was taken from the breast milk bank at Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.
“The doctor advised that my baby needs more time to be cared for and stabilized because he was born prematurely. Every day, the baby is still breastfed from the milk bank, and full breastfeeding will help strengthen the baby's resistance, so I am somewhat reassured,” Ms. Lan shared.
Currently, Hung Vuong Hospital is one of the hospitals with the largest breast milk bank in the country. Every day, this bank can provide about 102 liters of safe pasteurized breast milk for premature babies, babies with underlying medical conditions requiring intensive treatment, and babies in isolation.
According to Dr. Phan Thi Hang - Deputy Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, the demand for donated milk in Vietnam is very large. Currently, there are 5 breast milk banks established nationwide.
Every year, Vietnam has 41,000 premature babies, of which 35,000 need pasteurized breast milk. Providing the precious source of breast milk for newborns is a great effort from hospitals across the country.
“We hope that in the future, there will be more satellite breast milk banks, helping to increase milk collection and supply to children in need at small hospitals,” said Dr. Hang.
According to Dr. Bui Thi Thuy Tien - Head of Pediatrics and Head of Neonatal Department at Hung Vuong Hospital, although there are currently 5 developing breast milk banks, the demand for milk for premature and low birth weight babies is still not fully met. If satellite breast milk banks are developed, there will be an additional source of pasteurized milk to supply premature babies at small hospitals around Ho Chi Minh City.
For babies who are separated from their mothers, in intensive care, or have serious illnesses, breast milk is a very good source of nutrition to improve their resistance. Studies have also shown that using pasteurized breast milk compared to formula milk significantly reduces the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature and extremely premature babies - a dangerous complication that can cause intestinal perforation, requiring surgery and leading to peritonitis, seriously affecting the baby.
Additionally, in infants born at 27-28 weeks of gestation, the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in the group of infants fed pasteurized breast milk decreased from 70% to 41%.
“Donating milk brings joy and optimism to mothers. We often see mothers who have enough or excess milk willing to share it with babies who do not have milk from their own mothers. This is a humane act, helping to increase the chances of survival for premature babies who lack breast milk,” Dr. Hang shared.
