Hoang Tien Loc, Viet Nam
People of the Western Pacific
"When Vi said to me, 'Honey, we are having a baby,' I said, “Are you joking?!"
I just ran around and told my relatives, so that everyone would know about this happy news.
The baby came sooner than expected. Vi had the signs of miscarriage and she was bleeding.
They said it would be difficult to keep the baby because he was too young, only 25 weeks.
After the birth, there was an announcement on the loudspeaker asking me to go and see the doctor.
When I came in they asked me to stand and wait for a while.
I was trembling, trembling so much that my hands were shaking.
Then they said that I could go to see my son in the neonatal recovery room. So I knew my child could breathe. I ran to go and look at my son. He was so tiny, like a very small mouse.
The doctor taught us how to take care of the baby with Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC).
The doctor said that by putting the baby on the father's chest or the mother's chest, the baby can hear the parents talk and look around to know where they are.
KMC helps the baby develop faster- its brain, weight, height, hearing, eyesight.
I was so happy when I could hold my baby. I talked to him and sang to him. I held his hand, joked with him.
My emotion was so high at that time, I was happy, I couldn’t even speak. There is nothing that compares to the happiness when we hold our child."
Watch Hoang Tien Loc's story
WHO Country Office
Viet Nam
"There is nothing that compares to the happiness when we hold our child."
With many thanks to Hoang Tien Loc for sharing her story.