On August 7, in response to Breastfeeding Week 2023, the Ministry of Health awarded Hong Ngoc General Hospital the designation of "Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding". This is the result of relentless efforts in the journey to help infants access the mother's sweet colostrum in the first days of life.
The title of “Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding” is an initiative implemented by the Ministry of Health, Provincial Departments of Health with the support of Alive & Thrive and the Government of Ireland. The Ministry of Health and the Department of Health will comprehensively re-evaluate the title every 5 years to ensure hospitals maintain service quality, help mothers feel secure to breastfeed their babies from the first moment of life and throughout the journey with them in the future.
Constant effort is made to overcome difficulties in the journey of assisting moms to breastfeed.
Breastfeeding is natural, but it is a challenging journey, and many babies miss out on the priceless colostrum. Many mothers, in particular, do not clearly and completely comprehend the benefits of breast milk to their babies' health, and they lack confidence to exclusively breastfeed their newborns for the first 6 months.
During the designation ceremony to announce the title of " Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding", Mr. Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Minister of Health commented: "The success of Hong Ngoc General Hospital and Hong Ngoc - Phuc Truong Minh General Hospital in establishing centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding will spread the value of breastfeeding to other health facilities, particularly hospitals in Hanoi. We hope that Hong Ngoc Hospital, in collaboration with other centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding across the country, will continue to promote and maintain the achieved results to encourage and support breastfeeding mothers, ensuring that babies receive the best nutrition with breast milk in their first years of life."
Understanding the difficulties and worries of mothers in the journey of caring for their beloved babies, over the past 2 years, with the goal of becoming " Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding", Hong Ngoc has implemented various forms of propaganda, continuously updating and applying the standards of essential care for mothers and babies by the Ministry of Health and as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as gradually fulfilling the criteria to help mothers aware of proper and convenient breastfeeding right from the time of pregnancy.
At the designation ceremony, Ms. Hoang Tan Cuong - Deputy Director of Hong Ngoc Phuc Truong Minh Hospital summarized the 2-year journey of efforts with impressive accomplishments:
- Breastfeeding consulting for more than 3000 pregnant mothers who annually come to the hospital.
- 100% of newborns receive a 90 minutes of skin-to-skin contact with their mother right after birth.
- 6% of newborns was given delayed umbilical cord clamping.
- 5% of mothers breastfed their babies early in the first hour after giving birth and exclusively breastfed during the hospital stay.
- 100% of mothers are supported by medical staff to breastfeed their babies during their hospital stay.
The title of “Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding” does not belong to any individual
During the past 2 years, the medical team and doctors at Hong Ngoc - who have the opportunity to interact with mothers and babies are all well-trained in the breastfeeding practice program. The doctors will be the ones to directly propagate and guide the mother to be more secure and confident in the journey of raising her child.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Vinh - Chairman of Hong Ngoc Group affirmed: "After more than 2 years of efforts of the entire leadership, staff, especially the ones of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we have managed to meet many standards of the Ministry of Health, with an extremely difficult journey and efforts, achieving the title of Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding.”
The hospital's motivation to increase service quality has been generated by the hospital's consensus to implement and continuously improve the breastfeeding process, combined with the effective coordination of various departments, establishing a continuous and continuously quality improvement cycle. This is a requirement for Hong Ngoc to quickly achieve the title of "Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding."
Embracing new opportunities
Being one of Hanoi's first Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding allows Hong Ngoc to provide better opportunities for mother to connect with doctors, experts, educational and health care organizations. These are beneficial to mother in terms of sharing and expanding their knowledge on breastfeeding, such as the many benefits of breast milk, how to massage breasts to avoid clogged milk ducts, how to nurse properly, and so on.
The designation of "Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding" also helps Hong Ngoc gain confidence in its mission to assist mothers in caring for their babies. Hong Ngoc is always willing to carry out numerous activities to enable mothers feel secure to breastfeed during their stay in the hospital and during their journey of breastfeeding their babies in the future, utilizing an experienced medical team and advanced machinery.
Immediately after the designation ceremony, representatives of Hong Ngoc Hospital and Alive & Thrive had a detailed discussion to continue improving and further developing the breastfeeding practice at the hospital.
Currently, Hong Ngoc General Hospital is one of the well-known place for obstetrics and gynecology. The process of essential care for mothers and babies right after birth has been applied by the hospital in accordance with the recommendations of WHO and the Ministry of Health. 100% of mothers giving birth (including vaginal delivery and cesarean section) here are given skin-to-skin contact with their babies after birth; and babies can be breastfed within the first few hours after birth.
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