Breast milk is the best and most complete source of nutrition because the nutritional composition of breast milk is sufficient for the recommended daily needs of the child. Breast milk contains all the nutrients such as protein, glucid, lipid, vitamins and minerals. These substances have appropriate proportions and are easily absorbed, thus ensuring the nutritional needs of the child to develop normally within the first 6 months. When the mother has a reasonable and adequate diet, the amount of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in breast milk will ensure adequate micronutrient status for the child.

Vitamin A deficiency in young children in our country is currently mainly preclinical, detected when the serum retinol level is below 0.7 umol/liter. In newborns, the amount of vitamin A is stored in the liver and this amount depends on the nutritional status of the mother during pregnancy. After birth, the child's need for vitamin A increases due to the depletion of the vitamin A reserves and the need for supplementation because in children under one year old, the daily vitamin A requirement is about 350-500 mcg/day. The source of vitamin A in breast milk can ensure the vitamin A needs for children who are exclusively breastfed for at least the first 6 months (breast milk contains about 400-700 mcg/liter of vitamin A).

Some studies have shown that even in poorly nourished mothers (in places with food shortages), high-dose vitamin A supplementation 24 hours after birth helps maintain the amount of vitamin A (retinol) in breast milk for 4-6 months after birth in exclusively breastfed children. Therefore, it is necessary to promote breastfeeding to prevent vitamin A deficiency in children and the dissemination of this issue should be combined with vaccinations or micronutrient days for children.

Breastfeeding can ensure calcium intake for children because although this amount in breast milk is small, it is easy to absorb. In addition, the phosphorus and vitamin D content in breast milk has a more appropriate ratio and content than formula milk, so breastfed children have a lower risk of rickets than formula-fed children. The amount of iron in breast milk is low, only about 0.3 mg/liter. However, this amount of iron is still enough to meet the recommended needs for children from 4-6 months old because the biological value of iron in breast milk is higher because it binds directly to lactoferrin - an iron-binding protein in breast milk. Therefore, children fed with cow's milk may not receive enough iron and are often anemic; Breastfed babies in the first months receive enough iron and will reduce the risk of anemia. Other micronutrients such as vitamin C, minerals such as zinc, copper are also present in sufficient amounts in breast milk to ensure the proper growth and development of the baby.

The key to successful breastfeeding, in addition to exclusively breastfeeding, is nutrition for the breastfeeding mother, which is very important in maintaining the nutrient content in the milk.

During the first six months, mothers should eat more and more diverse foods (15-20 foods combined from 4 food groups) to have enough milk and good quality to feed their children.

In addition to adding more energy to the daily diet, increase about 500-600 Kcal/day including all four groups of nutrients: protein - including animal protein and vegetable protein, starch (glucid) and fat. The balanced ratio between those energy-producing components is about: P:L:G = 12-15%: 20-25%: 60-65%. Animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, milk) are abundant sources of vitamin A and iron to help meet the necessary needs of these micronutrients for mothers; seafood such as oysters and crabs are foods rich in zinc.

In addition, adding fruits and vegetables is very important because they can provide essential micronutrients to breast milk (fruits rich in Carotene such as mango, papaya, carrots; fruits rich in vitamin C such as oranges, tangerines, grapefruit; and some green leafy vegetables have a fairly high iron content and are rich in folic acid such as broccoli, watercress, etc.). In addition, attention should be paid to daily water intake (2 liters) because water is the main ingredient that makes up breast milk. You can drink filtered water, fruit juice, milk, vegetable juice.

Although breast milk is the most perfect nutritional formula for babies in the first 6 months of their lives, currently in Vietnam only 19.6% of women exclusively breastfeed during this important period; this rate is much lower than the world average (35%) (source: UNICEF). Therefore, the breastfeeding program is part of the responsibility of society and the whole community. Family and community support is really important and helpful in helping mothers to breastfeed their babies.