Newborns Vietnam is raising funds to support Tu Du Maternity Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, to provide human pasteurised donor milk for babies born to COVID infected mothers and infected babies. Too many pregnant women are dying, are too sick to breastfeed or express milk. Many babies now have no living relatives. They all need donor milk. Since the fourth wave of COVID-19, Tu Du and Hung Vuong hospitals have received 1,500 newborns from mothers confirmed with COVID-19. The rate is rising alarmingly in Ho Chi Minh City as the pandemic ravages south Vietnam.

Breastfeeding provides the optimal nutrition, it is the single most cost-effective preventative intervention to reduce newborn infants deaths. It protects against infectious diseases due to the direct transfer of antibodies from the Mother. The World Health Organisation and Vietnam Ministry of Health recommend all COVID infected mothers breast feed and when that is not possible have human donor milk.

We estimate that we need 2,700 litres of donor milk in the next three months for these babies. Collecting, treating and distributing donor milk costs £42 a litre.