Findings indicate that the key drivers of child undernutrition in Myanmar, where prevalence of child stunting is 28% and wasting is 7%, are multifaceted and start in utero.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers and practitioners must learn from mistakes made during the HIV pandemic, when breastfeeding was undermined through isolating infants from their mothers, and formula feeding resulted in more infant deaths than the disease.

Breastfeeding-friendly maternity protection and practices in the workplace must be prioritized to increase breastfeeding rates and improve the health, nutrition, and wellbeing of mothers, children, and society.

Breastfeeding is a powerful weapon in the fight to ensure every child has the best possible start to life, but mothers need access to accurate information and timely support from their family and community; the healthcare system; and their employers.

Not breastfeeding leads to more than half a million child deaths annually and costs the world economy up to US$1 billion a day.

A review of editorial content, advertisements, and Facebook posts from 2015-2016 in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam revealed inappropriate promotion and insufficient national regulation of breastmilk substitutes in the region.