It seemed like a miracle when a pre-term baby survived her second day without oxygen support. But it wasn't. It was simply nature.
The baby girl was born six weeks premature via Caesarean section and weighed just 1.8kg. She spent her first day with an oxygen tube, and on day two, only three hours after breastfeeding, the 32-week-old baby could breathe without the tube.
"Only a mother's milk could save her," said mum Panudda Sothanapaisal.
Since 2004, Unicef Thailand has campaigned for breastfeeding, and five years ago pushed for a draft bill to regulate the marketing of baby formula and substitutes for babies under the age of two, to the cabinet for approval. The draft bill was delayed, as agreed at the National Health Assembly last year, and will hopefully be passed this year.
Currently, the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is practised in Thailand to regulate the marketing of products for babies under the age of two. However, the code is only a recommendation, not a law; a manufacturer may or may not follow the code without being legally accountable.
"Breast milk isn't just the source of nutrition for a baby, but is also a medicine and mental treatment," said Dr Kannika Bangsainoi, a committee member of Thai Breastfeeding Center Foundation.
Since 1979, breastfeeding has been promoted in public hospitals and in villages throughout the country. The baby-friendly hospital project that ruled out breast milk substitutes from hospitals was introduced in 1992, and there are about 1,000 public baby-friendly hospitals in Thailand.
Breastfeeding was promoted among working mothers and business operators, including factory owners, who have been encouraged to provide a breastfeeding corner for the mothers to pump their breast milk during the day.
"Breast milk is designed by nature to feed the baby, particularly pre-term or sick ones," explained Dr Kannika.
"It's easy to digest and causes zero infection to the baby's digestion. Breast-feeding also creates a physical and mental bond between the mother and baby, and helps physical improvements."
Advertisements on TV and print materials have misled mothers and families that baby formula and other food supplements can substitute breast milk, said Pornthida Padthong of Unicef. Thanks to the successful marketing and the changing lifestyle of working mothers, breastfeeding substitutes are gaining popularity. Most mothers and families have been heavily influenced by the advertisements from different channels and different brands of baby formula and other substitutes.
"A baby isn't killed by breast milk substitutes, but nature has provided every possible substance a baby needs in mother's milk," said Pornthida, who has campaigned for breastfeeding for the past decade.
But Panudda knew the difference between breast milk substitutes and breast milk after raising her two daughters, one four years old and the other three months. Her elder daughter had become physically weak and was a fussy eater after Panudda gave up breastfeeding in the second month after her doctor wrongly told her that her daughter could not digest breast milk. Her younger daughter, who was born six weeks premature, is gaining weight with breast milk, and now weighs 3.2kg. Pornthida said it needs more than just a healthy mother to succeed at breastfeeding. One needs to be brave, courageous, patient and assertive. Most mothers fail in breast-feeding because of the lack of support from family and in the workplace.
Switching between breastfeeding and bottle feeding isn't recommended by doctors. A baby begins to to reject breast-feeding and finds it easier to bottle feed. A baby has to suckle while breastfeeding, but only waits for the flow of milk through the teat holes of a bottle.
Kannika explained the first hour of a baby's life is very important because the baby is alert and seeks a mother's touch. Within the first 24 hours, a mother is the best nurse for the baby, and the father is the best support for the mother. The three are supposed to spend the first 24 hours bonding.
According to the World Health Assembly, a baby should be breastfed until at least six months old, and provided with additional appropriate food for their age until two years old. A child can be breastfed as long as the child wishes, which could be until the age of five or six.
Research by the Department of Health discovered that baby formula manufacturers have conducted a more subtle marketing campaign in the past five years.
Samples have been given to new mothers as a gift at the social security office or district office, instead of at the hospital, when they process documents for the newborn.
When delivering her second child at the hospital a few months ago, Panudda didn't care if there were any free samples of breast milk substitutes because she was so determined to breastfeed her newborn.
Even though she resumed work in the next few weeks, she bought a freezer to store her two-month stock of breast milk for her baby. "I'll breastfeed my baby for at least two years or as long as she wants to," she said.