The Philippines has adopted policies to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding on par with global standards, yet the impact of these policies is not well understood.

A breastfeeding promotion intervention in private facilities in Lagos, which included training for healthcare providers, increased the percentage of exclusively breastfed infants but had no impact on early initiation of breastfeeding.  

Interviews reveal implementation gaps in Vietnam’s maternity protection policies, limiting their effectiveness to protect women and children’s rights. Findings demonstrate a need to increase awareness, strengthen enforcement, and expand entitlements to the informal sector.

Human Milk Bank (HMB) services are an essential component of a breastfeeding-friendly health system, ensuring pre-term, low-birth-weight, and other vulnerable infants have the protections of breastmilk when they need it most.

Breastfeeding in Lao PDR is widely socially accepted and strongly supported by government policy. While most infants are breastfed, the practice is often sub-optimal: slow initiation, pre-lacteal feeding, and mixed feeding are common.

Building on the proven approach demonstrated in Viet Nam, A&T has established a strong network of committed champions and partners to replicate improvements in maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) policies and programs throughout Southeast Asia.