Da Nang inaugurates Vietnam's first breastfeeding airport rooms

Six breastfeeding rooms were opened for use at the airport’s international terminal on May 16.

Supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam, FHI 360’s Alive & Thrive and Rotary Da Nang, the newly established rooms provide a safe and tranquil environment for mothers to breastfeed their babies or to express breast milk. The breastfeeding rooms are strategically positioned near washing facilities yet distanced from lavatories, have soundproofed walls and have comfortable chairs.

Dinh Anh Tuan, head of the Maternal and Child Health Department under the Ministry of Health, said Vietnam’s laws, including labour laws, laws on social insurance and on health insurance, have strict regulations on mothers breastfeeding, encouraging people to believe that breastfeeding is best.

Vietnam is among only a few developing countries which has six months of maternity leave and the healthcare sector has taken lots of measures to encourage breastfeeding with Da Nang leading the way, he said.

Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children was the first healthcare facility nationwide to launch a mother milk bank initiative, since then five other banks and seven satellite operations opened across Vietnam. The system of milk banks is expanding, especially in urban areas that have huge demand, he said.

Do Trong Hau, chief operating officer of Da Nang International Terminal, said: "We are delighted to introduce this pioneering initiative at Da Nang International Terminal, setting a new benchmark for breastfeeding support in public spaces nationwide.

"The breastfeeding rooms’ smart design, co-created by lactating mothers and international lactation consultants, serves as an excellent complementary solution to enhance lactation space accessibility for breastfeeding mothers alongside mother and baby rooms already installed."

Paul Zambrano, acting regional director of Alive & Thrive East Asia Pacific, said: "With Da Nang International Terminal leading the charge in supporting breastfeeding, Da Nang is on the way to becoming a breastfeeding-friendly city, bolstered by an ecosystem of initiatives aimed at creating a supportive environment for breastfeeding. This investment transcends nutritional benefits, yielding economic and environmental dividends through breastfeeding."

The central city currently hosts five centres of excellence for breastfeeding, benefiting over 21,000 babies every year and thanks to the milk bank at Da Nang Hospital more than 100 preterm, low-birthweight and sick babies are helped every day.

The city also boasts a 100% installation rate of lactation rooms within workplaces, employing more than 1,000 staff members and empowering over 15,000 female employees to sustain breastfeeding upon their return to work.