PHNOM PENH: The National Maternal and Child Health Center of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Helen Keller International and GIZ's MUSEFO project, has officially launched the first breastfeeding room in Phnom Penh, designed with comfortable and private facilities for mothers to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for infants and children.

The inauguration ceremony of the first breastfeeding room took place at the National Maternal and Child Health Center located near Wat Phnom on Friday, 4 March.

The President of the National Maternal and Child Health Center, Kim Rathna, said that the room has four feeding areas that can allow four mothers to breastfeed at the same time, and it is designed with comfortable materials and to be private for mothers to use. In each feeding room, there are lovely curtain designs with pictures and aesthetically pleasing decorations, such as vases, to allow the mothers to feel relaxed and refreshed while breastfeeding.

Kim Rathna said that the initiative to establish a breastfeeding room and nursery is to aid mothers who work at the center, as well as to allow mothers to check the health of their young children and have a suitable place to continue breastfeeding with comfort.

In addition, mothers who leave their children at home can also use this room to pump as well as store their milk in the refrigerator before taking it home.

The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Health, Prak Sophorn Neary, called on all ministries, institutions, factories, enterprises, UN donors offices, civil society organizations, and private partners to work together to promote breastfeeding in the workplace, especially by facilitating the ability of mothers to breastfeed their babies in all workplaces so that women can still continue to breastfeed after returning to work.

Cambodia is committed to increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for infants and children when they are zero to six months old to 85% by 2030.