The Neonatal Care program of Vietnam Children’s Fund Social Enterprise was established with the mission of protecting the lives of preterm and newborn infants in remote and underserved regions of Vietnam. Since March 2024, the program has partnered with Quan Ba General Hospital in Tuyen Quang Province (formerly Ha Giang) by equipping the hospital with essential neonatal medical devices and organizing pediatric and neonatal resuscitation training courses for local healthcare staff. These sustained efforts have helped save the lives of more than 1,500 newborns delivered at this hospital.
In late December 2025, a 35-week preterm delivery case was rushed into the delivery room in critical condition. The infant had trouble breathing, cyanotic skin, and clear signs of respiratory distress. In addition, the baby had a congenital abnormality related to consanguineous marriage. Communication with the family was challenging, as the parents spoke only Hmong, a reality not uncommon in the mountainous northern regions due to local demographic characteristics.
With their professional expertise, the doctors quickly made a diagnosis and established a treatment protocol for a preterm infant with respiratory distress. The delivery-room resuscitation procedure was immediately activated. Medical staff promptly suctioned to clear the airway, followed by oxygen therapy to give the body additional oxygen. Once the baby’s breathing stabilized, the doctors transferred the infant to the NICU, where the baby was kept warm and protected in an incubator, while receiving intravenous fluid therapy and treatment for jaundice. Throughout five days of treatment, blood oxygen saturation levels were closely monitored using a SpO₂ monitor to ensure timely responses to any abnormal signs. Thanks to the equipment provided by the Neonatal Care program and its donors, along with the training delivered by the project in March 2024, the baby was successfully resuscitated and treated.
For the Quan Ba medical team, this was another preterm infant whose life was saved. For Neonatal Care, it is clear evidence that strengthening healthcare capacity and providing essential medical equipment can create a lasting, sustainable impact for children in highland areas. The Neonatal Care program would like to express its sincere gratitude to the sponsors, Minh Ha Food, An’s Saigon, and HerSspa, for accompanying the program on this journey to protect the lives of newborns and preterm infants in Vietnam.
