At Mamava, I was the second employee, and the marketing team. I managed a website redesign, I wrote all our copy - for content, web, social, digital, app - you name it. I was the expert in our brand voice, as well as our target audiences. Below are two content pieces I wrote - first, our founders’ story, and second, a content piece about the benefits of breastfeeding.
Nursing should be a right, not a privilege.
It was Labor Day 2006. The New York Times featured an article written by Jodi Kantor that outlined the challenges certain mothers faced trying to continue breastfeeding after returning to work.
“As pressure to breastfeed increases, a two-class system is emerging for working mothers. For those with autonomy in their jobs — generally, well-paid professionals — breastfeeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice…. But for lower-income mothers — including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers, and the military — pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breastfeed at all, and others to quit after a short time.”
This article struck a cord and the seed was planted. After having pumped at trade shows, airports, corporate retreats, baseball games, and even the back seat of a male client’s car, we decided enough was enough. This project was motivated by our personal experiences as working, nursing moms, and by all the friends and colleagues and the thousands of women who have shared their experiences and frustrations with us.
With the motto that nursing should be a right, not a privilege, we launched Mamava out of the graphic design studio where we both worked, Solidarity of Unbridled Labour (formerly JDK). With the creative, problem-solving minds of design and brand strategists, and the generous resources of the studio, Mamava came to life.
Mamava is a business dedicated to transforming the culture of breastfeeding. Our first product (we hope there are many to come!) is our freestanding lactation suite. It provides privacy, cleanliness, and all you need to use a breast pump or nurse an infant — while simultaneously reminding passersby that breastfeeding should be supported and celebrated by all of us because of the good it does for babies, women, families, and society in general. That is to say, nursing moms are everywhere, and they need our support.
We have never wanted to hide breastfeeding — our goal is to do just the opposite by raising the profile of this natural human function, and celebrating the realities of the logistics involved in taking on breastfeeding for the many, many mothers who need to be away from their babies. Every day we receive tweets, emails and Facebook messages from moms thanking us for what we do. There’s nothing more rewarding.
Why Breastfeed?
Many people wonder, why the big fuss about breastfeeding? Does it really matter how a baby is fed? In short, it does. The research is in, and there are significant statistical differences between the health of both mama and baby when breastfeeding is the chosen feeding method.
When we talk about the importance of breastfeeding in terms of the science, it’s important to clarify exactly what it means when a report says that breastfeeding is protective or reduces risk - if a report says that a formula-fed baby is more likely to get a lower respiratory infection, does that mean that all formula fed babies will get these infections? Or that no breastfed babies will? No, not at all. But it does mean that if you look at 100 or 1000 babies, and compare the breastfed to the formula fed ones, that in the breastfed group, there will be far fewer lower respiratory infections (like bronchitis and pneumonia). In the breastfed group, there will also be fewer cases of bowel infections like necrotizing enterocolitis, fewer ear infections, and as the children age, lower rates of obesity.
Breastfeeding is not only beneficial to babies. In mothers who breastfeed, the reduction in rates of breast cancer has been known for a long time. However, newer research has also shown that breastfeeding can help prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and lower the risk of ovarian cancer.
While breast pumping is never as soothing as breastfeeding skin to skin, remember that pumping pays off in the ease of feeding when you’re home with the baby, in addition to the reduced risk of illness and chronic disease for both mother and baby. These are health improvements that a woman carries with her for her entire life, from the experiences of just a few years. And now, when you’re looking for a quiet place to express milk, look for a Mamava lactation suite! We’re here to support you, Mama.
Questions/Comments? Let us know! We’re here for you and have a certified lactation consultant on board to provide expert feedback.