Make room for breastfeeding

Without question, breast milk is the gold standard that all infant formulas try hard to emulate but fail to duplicate. The benefits of breast-feeding are nume-rous. Foremost is that breast-fed babies are prone to fewer illnesses because human milk is a good delivery system for transferring the mother’s antibodies to disease. Likewise, breast milk is full of enzymes and nutrients.

There are physical benefits for infants as well. For instance, good jaw development results from breastfeeding. This is because it is harder to get milk from the breast than from a feeding bottle. The best part about breast milk is that it is safe. Babies are not allergic to their mother’s milk, although they may develop a reaction to something that the mother takes in. As the item is eliminated from her diet, however, the problem is resolved.

Studies have also indicated that breast-fed babies are smarter and healthier than those who are fed with infant formula. Perhaps this is a psychological offshoot of breastfeeding that promotes an attachment between the mother and the child. Breastfeeding is not just a means of delivering nutrition; it also becomes a source of warmth and comfort, and results in happier, more contented, better adjusted infants. Several studies have shown, in fact, that breast-fed babies become less anxious children as they grow up.

Mothers also benefit when they breastfeed their children. Aside from the cash saved from forgoing infant formula, studies show that breastfeeding lowers the incidence of breast cancer by 25 percent. Furthermore, the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer is lessened due to lowered estrogen level during lactation. Other advantages include post-partum weight loss which enables the mother to shed excess pounds gained during pregnancy more easily, emotional health (less incidences of post-partum depression) and child-spacing or natural contraceptive benefits. In addition, studies show that breastfeeding women show four times less risk of developing osteoporosis in the future.

As an innovative dairy marketer, Fonterra has world- class people working in research and development to create new products and new technologies to best serve their customers. Known as New Zealand Milk in the Philippines, it is a company that has recognized the benefits of breastfeeding and instituted programs to promote it.

True to its objective of being a company committed to maternal health, New Zealand Milk Philippines has conducted breastfeeding symposia, distributed posters and leaflets that promote breastfeeding, and has partnered with the Perinatal Association of the Philippines (PAPI) to conduct conferences on maternal nutrition. It is a mom-friendly company with a breastfeeding program that has been in place for eight years now.

Women make up 48 percent of New Zealand Milk’s employees and of these, 38 percent are mothers. To encourage breastfeeding in its offices, the company has set aside a room where mothers can nurse their infants.

"Mothers do like to come back to work," says Carlo Ma. M. Mendoza, general manager and president of New Zealand Milk Philippines. "That’s the Filipino woman — she likes to do many things; and that is why the (breastfeeding) program involves more than just extra time for maternal leave."

The room for breastfeeding mothers is well-appointed and snug. Moreover, Mendoza reveals that the company supports the practice of setting up breastfeeding rooms in public places such as the malls.

Good maternal nutrition is a concern at New Zealand Milk Philippines. As the distributors of Anmum Lacta, they recognize that maternal deficiencies of some micronutrients can affect the quality of breast milk. Lactation places high demands on the mother’s stores of energy and protein and it is because of this that the breastfeeding mother should consciously improve her diet to ensure that her breast milk contains all the nutrients that her baby needs.

What is it like to be a man and head a company that promotes maternal health and a breastfeeding program? Carlo Mendoza smiles, "As a Filipino man consciously respectful of moms and motherhood, I have a great appreciation for mothers."