In June 2012, the National Assembly approved both pieces of legislation. Hung currently serves as the Assistant to the President of the Viet Nam National Assembly’s Institute for Legislative Studies (ILS)—the nation’s leading center for policy research, information, and analysis.

Though it was a professional obligation to review and analyze the two bills, Hung acknowledges that it was personal experience that initially helped him understand their importance. After his first son was born, Hung’s wife had to return to work after four months and discontinued exclusive breastfeeding. At that time, the new parents thought they were using the best formula available. As he says, “I had studied a lot about how to feed a newborn baby—but I still believed the formula companies and thought formula could be a substitute for breastmilk.” But by the time their second son was born, Hung’s wife had spent two years saving annual leave so she could stay home to take care of the baby for one more month (5th month).

Key pieces of evidence included: The challenge facing Hung was to help National Assembly members understand how unsupportive polices prevent parents from making the best feeding choices for their children. Reflecting on the multi-year process, Hung emphasizes the importance of evidence provided by Alive & Thrive and UNICEF. Well-documented data and information led him to persuade his own boss, the ILS President, to provide that information to members of the National Assembly so they could make “more scientific, objective, and evidence-based decisions about how to amend the Labor Code and the Law on Advertisement.”

The short and long-term benefits of breastfeeding

• A demonstrated relationship between maternity leave and breastfeeding—including data that showed maternity leave was one of the top reasons Vietnamese mothers cited for not breastfeeding exclusively
• Background on industry marketing in Viet Nam, and a demonstrated link between advertising restrictions and reducing formula use

But even with a strong evidence base, at first Hung wasn’t optimistic about passage of the proposed revisions. Questions and concerns raised about the two laws were extensive. Would longer maternity leave actually support breastfeeding—and could it potentially hurt women in the workplace by causing employers to give preferential treatment to men? Was the Social Insurance Fund even able to cover the cost of two months of additional leave?

Questions about the Advertisement Law included concerns that restricting the advertising of breastmilk substitute products up to 24 months was a potential violation of international trade law or regulations—or that there would be direct economic harm to producers and traders.

The viewpoints of the National Assembly members have changed a lot through the process of studying the documents, being provided with sufficient information, and participating in forums and discussions with international and national experts.

This is in part because legal experts have analyzed that breastfeeding is a basic right, a natural right to newborns must be entitled to. From a social and legal perspective, we can see that 6-month maternity leave for women workers relates to many personal, human, and natural rights of women and children.

And underlying all these discussions was a fundamental misunderstanding of the role that breastfeeding plays in a child’s health and development—and the social and economic success of an entire nation.

The process was iterative. Every time new questions arose, government and non-government partners helped find the answers. Hung credits this process, guided by dozens of national and provincial workshops to build consensus around key points, in changing minds and votes. He highlights several strategies that helped shape the discussion of each law.

Building support for maternity leave involved:

• Demonstrating the challenges mothers face when returning to work
• Conducting original research with employers to show that they support maternity leave when they understand the benefits—including a healthier, more productive workforce
• Demonstrating that the Social Insurance Fund had sufficient resources to cover increased costs

Building support for the Advertisement Law involved:

• Debunking the myth that restricting advertising would violate international trade law or regulations
• Proving how unethical advertisments can affect breastfeeding
• Highlighting that formula companies spend millions of dollars each year promoting their products in Viet Nam, while the Viet Nam government spends only a fraction of that amount promoting breastfeeding
• Showing that restricting advertising of breastmilk substitutes reduces their use and promote breastfeeding

Ultimately, National Assembly members became more sympathetic to the challenges mothers face when making decisions about how to feed their child. They responded to the argument that they could even the playing field and ensure that families get the opportunity to give their children the best possible nutrition. They voted overwhelmingly to extend maternity leave and expand advertising restrictions on breastmilk substitutes.

Hung sees a brighter future for Viet Nam as a result of these policy changes. In addition to improving the health and development of future generations, he believes the changes in maternity leave will benefit babies, mothers, employers, and the general public. Women will not have to lose pay to practice six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Healthier babies will mean fewer days of missed work and a more stable and loyal workforce. And thanks to the Advertisement Law, the public will have access to better and more accurate information about infant and young child feeding.

Hung extends his thanks to all the partners involved in passing these two laws—and especially to the leaders of the National Assembly who he believes made the right decision for Viet Nam. “I think this story has a very happy ending and a meaningful result…. This is a success for not only Vietnamese mothers and babies, but also the nation as a whole.”

By Truong Quoc Hung

Truong Quoc Hung was enlisted to help develop legislation to extend maternity leave in Viet Nam from four to six months, and to expand Advertisement Law restrictions on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes up to 24 months.