Philips Avent announces #FeedingOurFuture campaign in support of World Breastfeeding Week

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai, India: Philips Avent, enabling healthy living and preventive lifestyles for new mothers and families through meaningful innovations, launched its awareness campaign#FeedingOurFutureaimed at educating new mothers, caregivers & families along with healthcare professionals on the importance of breastfeeding. This is in line with this year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme ‘A Key to Sustainable Development’, and will run through the week i.e. August 1^st to 7^th across New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune and plans to reach out to more than5 lakh mothers.

During the campaign, Philips Avent will reach out to mothers, caregivers and healthcare professionals through multiple touchpoints offline at Cloudnine Hospitals and other leading hospitals by hosting lactation camps and educational sessions. These camps will run throughout the month of August. Also reaching out to the modern day parenting community present online, tweet chats with subject matter experts will be organised along with hosting myth busters and trivia through Philips India social media channels and websites frequented by parents.

Jayati Singh, Business Head Health and Wellness, Philips India said,“Breastfeeding has tremendous short and long term health benefits for both mother and baby, setting the stage for healthier futures. Philips Avent understands these at the most intimate level and is therefore, drawing much needed attention to some of the key barriers why mothers discontinue to breastfeed. We are reaching out to the parenting and healthcare communities through 25 touchpoints across 8 cities and additionally creating conversations through online medium. Through #FeedingOurFuture campaign, we are committed to empowering mothers and work with them to develop the tools and resources they need to achieve their breastfeeding goals.”

Did You Know? Breastfeeding Facts:

· In India, the reported breastfeeding rate of women fell from 90% at one year and 73% the next; a fact that can be attributed to the survey being conducted only in the urban areas¹⁰

· Across the world an overwhelming 94% of mothers wanted to start breastfeeding while in India, 100% women wanted to breastfeed after childbirth¹⁰

· While 41% women never started or did not breastfeed beyond the first six months across the globe, only 10 % of Indian women were not breastfeeding at all or stopped within the first six months¹⁰

· While the world over, trends suggest that women who take complete breastfeeding class tends to be larger in the group breastfeeding for 7–12 months compared with 0–3 months, India and Egypt defy the trend with most women sustaining breastfeeding over 12 months, irrespective of a comparatively low breastfeeding class attendance¹⁰

· Up to 60% of women who breastfeed stop earlier than they want to¹. There are numerous reasons why: some experience problems with infant sucking or latching on, which can cause pain or discomfort during breastfeeding; others believe that they do not produce enough milk; some encounter medical problems, or choose to return to work early^1,2.

· Milk Volume & Flow-Milk volume and flow are closely linked to mother’s psychological well-being and stress levels^3–5. In a study carried out by Philips Avent, mothers expressed significantly more milk after 10–15 minutes of doing a breathing exercise or listening to music⁶. It has also been shown that feeding an infant or expressing milk in a calm, relaxing, purpose-built environment with a home-like atmosphere enhances the breastfeeding experience⁷.

· Returning to Work-Studies show that, should they choose to continue to breastfeed, mothers who return to work after giving birth have to cope with a number of barriers; from the attitudes of their colleagues and the length of maternity leave to the challenges of shift work and hourly pay⁸.

· Privacy& Comfort-A recent study found that one in ten women stop breastfeeding because they feel too uncomfortable doing it outside the privacy of their home². Another survey among working mothers showed that more than 30% of them would value access to a dedicated room where they could express milk⁹.

A study among women staying on maternity wards found that feeding an infant or expressing milk in a calm, purpose-built environment with a home-like atmosphere facilitated breastfeeding because mothers felt more relaxed⁷.

#feedingourfuturecan be found on Philips India’s Twitter handle @PhilipsIndia and Philips India’s Facebook page @philipsaventindia

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people'shealth and enabling better outcomes across thehealth continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leveragesadvanced technologyand deepclinical and consumer insights to deliverintegrated solutions. The companyis a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoringandhealth informatics, as well as inconsumerhealthand home care. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 69,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found atwww.philips.com/newscenter.