The Hospital Authority (HA) said the rate of feeding newborn babies exclusively with breast milk has been declining in recent years, due to a lack of confidence in sustaining breastfeeding among mothers and their physical exhaustion.

It called for a breastfeeding-friendly environment, as the annual World Breastfeeding Week started on Saturday.

The chairwoman of the authority’s Breastfeeding Promotion Subcommittee, Wong Sze-ki, acknowledged that many working mothers face challenges in breastfeeding when they return to work.

“They can hardly have enough time to do hand expression or pumping for the baby,” she said.

She added that many of them would also face stress after going back to work, which affects breastfeeding.

One of the mothers, Zendi Au, said she has breastfed three children despite the challenges.

Au said she received help and support from medics at HA, as well as her employer.

According to the HA, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding – feeding babies with breast milk only – among mothers who give birth at eight public hospitals has dropped from 23.7 percent in 2021 to 15.5 percent last year.

Wong explained that many mothers stopped breastfeeding due to a lack of confidence in their breast milk supply and physical exhaustion during breastfeeding.

She appealed to mothers who encounter difficulties in breastfeeding to seek help from professionals.

“If moms have challenges or concerns, when they seek help from our lactation clinic, we will tailor-make a plan which works best for them,” she said.

The HA has received positive feedback from the mothers, Wong said.

“They found that our lactation nurses can help them to tackle and also overcome the hurdles in breastfeeding, so we encourage mothers to seek our help if needed.”

Wong also said the authorities are working on coming up with the directions to provide more breastfeeding facilities in the city and called for a breastfeeding-friendly community in Hong Kong.


Edited by Aaron Tam