Breast milk substitutes must not be sold at medical establishments in Vietnam

According to Decree No. 100/2014/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, in trading and use of nutritious products for infants, medical establishments may not:

- Sell, or permit the sale of, breast milk substitutes at medical establishments, except hospital drugstores;

- Permit establishments producing or trading in breast milk substitutes to display or post up any utensils or equipment bearing names or logos of breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles and teats at medical establishments;

- Permit employees of establishments producing or trading in breast milk substitutes to meet or contact nursing mothers and pregnant mothers in any forms;

- Receive breast milk substitutes; material benefits; utensils bearing names or logos of breast milk substitutes which are given by production and business establishments.

Besides, medical establishments shall:

- Provide counseling about breastfeeding to pregnant women, nursing mothers and members of their families;

- Disseminate, put up panels and posters or broadcast images with contents prescribed in Articles 4 and 5 of this Decree at antenatal clinics, labor and delivery clinics, postpartum rooms, nutrition counseling clinics or easy-to-notice places or places where concentrate pregnant women, nursing mothers and members of their families;

- Create conditions for mothers to feed their newborns within the first hour after birth, exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of life, and continue breastfeeding until 24 months and beyond.

View details at Decree No. 100/2014/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from March 01, 2015.

Le Hai

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