Exclusive breastfeeding in Vietnam: an attainable goal.

AIM: To explore community views on the feasibility of exclusive breastfeeding in Vietnam. METHODS: A total of 118 interviews were conducted with mothers, grandmothers, fathers, health workers and 'oldest women' in rural and urban areas in the north and south of Vietnam. Special issues were further examined through 12 'strategic interviews'. FINDINGS: Exclusive breastfeeding was rare because it was poorly understood and little appreciated, by health professionals as well as lay persons, as the best way to feed an infant during the first 6 months. Early fluid supplementation was the rule and most infants received water and milk in addition to breast milk. While a majority of the women worked, they had found ways to manage their work so that it did not need to interfere with exclusive breastfeeding. Family members expressed a readiness to support exclusive breastfeeding when it was explained to them. CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding in Vietnam, while currently uncommon, is an attainable goal. Establishing exclusive breastfeeding as the norm in the general population would make it easier for HIV-infected women, for whom replacement feeding is not acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe, to breastfeed exclusively.

Water requirements of breast-fed infants in a hot climate

To estimate the water requirements of exclusively breast-fed infants in a hot climate, theoretical calculations of water requirements were made and field study was carried out in Jamaica. Three urine samples ranged from 1.005 through 1.015, with a mean of 1.009 (SD ñ 0.002). Corresponding values for osmolality were calculated to be 103 through 468 mOsmole/liter with a mean of 258 mOsmole/liter. The mean specific gravity for an infant ranged from 1.006 through 1.012, or 139 through 358 mOsmole/liter. The mean outdoor temperature was 27.6 C and the humidity 76 percent. Because the values for specific gravity were universally low it was concluded that healthy, exclusively breast-fed infants living in a hot climate will manage well without additional water. Additional water may be desirable during illness (AU)