Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash
World Breastfeeding Week takes place during the first week of August every year and aims to champion breastfeeding while improving the health of babies worldwide. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action reports that scaling up breastfeeding can prevent 20,000 maternal deaths and 823,000 infant deaths annually, demonstrating how raising awareness can really help to change lives across the world. To celebrate and acknowledge World Breastfeeding Week, team Point 6 wanted to share a project we are really proud of, and that we believe has played a small part in contributing to the breastfeeding mission.
How do I know if my baby is getting enough milk?
For new mums, this is an age-old question. And having worked with the mum and baby industry for over 20 years, one that Point 6 is very familiar with. Back in 2012, we collaborated with our long-term clients Philips Avent to roll out a promotional giveaway. Created for healthcare professionals, it helps them reassure new mums who might think their own milk supply is inefficient for their baby and switch to formula, giving them the confidence to continue with breastfeeding. And this initiative was so popular, it's still resonating with mums and midwives years later.
Aptly named Tiny Tummies, the visual tool consists of three perfectly formed wooden balls. Each ball represents a new-born baby's stomach size at 1 day old, 3 days old and 10 days old. And they sure are tiny. The spherical aids demonstrate just how little milk babies need at that early age. Distributed mainly throughout Germany, midwives have found them super useful in reassuring new – and especially young – mums who may be nervous or concerned about how much milk their baby is getting.
It's easy to understand where this concern comes from. New-borns often lose up to 7% of their birth weight in the first few days. This seems pretty scary but is nothing to worry about, as it takes a little time for new mums to produce milk.
The bigger picture
Tiny Tummies was developed as a part of a wider project to help Philips Avent build awareness and engagement with healthcare professionals. Point 6 recognised that the stalwart mum-and-baby brand was lacking when it came to providing sufficient knowledge and support materials. So, we created a toolkit of assets including breastfeeding-help kits and educational fact sheets. These would be handed out to healthcare professionals, who would then use them to reassure new mums as they begin their breastfeeding journey.
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels So, what did we learn from the experience? That nothing beats a visual aid! Being able to see the size of their baby's tummies proved to be very comforting for the new mums, and has meant the orders for our Tiny Tummies bags keep rolling in. Plus, we feel pretty chuffed that we have helped in reassuring all the exhausted, overwhelmed and catatonic new mums out there that they are doing their best.
Related links
worldbreastfeedingweek.org
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
laleche.org.uk/is-my-baby-getting-enough-milk
