Mothers and their breast friends

When I was a toddler, I used to freak out if my foods were touching on the plate — couldn’t have the beets mixing with the pork chops, etc. My mom would also freak out: “It all ends up in the same place — your stomach — so finish it!” Somehow this didn’t help. To this day, she likes to tease me about my “separate foods” phase.

Turns out I was right. As we learned from Dr. Gillian Harris, a clinical psychologist at the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, UK and consultant for Philips Avent — the company that makes Avent baby bottles, breast pumps, pacifiers, sterilizers and toddler eating ware — it’s natural for kids not to want their foods touching. If a toddler hasn’t “accepted” a new food yet, they think of it as “poison” and may get disgusted by it — especially if it’s touching other food on their plate. Hmm, sounds familiar…

“This is not the child being naughty, exercising their ‘no’ muscle,” says Dr. Harris. “There’s a reason they don’t like it. Any ‘disgusting’ food will be thought of as a contaminant. So if you put a disgusting food next to a liked food, it will be contaminated.”

So there, Mom.

Dr. Harris was at the Philips Avent factory in Glemsford, UK to talk about the challenges of child nutrition, and also to introduce the Toddler Mealtime range: brightly colored, animal-decorated plastic plates with separate food compartments — something this fussy eater can get behind.

Christine Tan, senior marketing manager for Philips Consumer Lifestyle Global Division: “Avent is definitely a premium brand. As babies get fewer, and mothers delay having babies, they want the best.”

She also had practical advice for moms who worry about getting their kids to eat healthier meals. She points out there are three approaches: the “authoritarian” model, in which parents practically force-feed the toddler their veggies, causing them to have negative associations with certain foods for life; then there are “permissive” parents, who just give up and basically let kids eat whatever they want, regardless of its nutritional value; and finally, there’s the “authoritative” type, who offers structured meals in a regular meal environment, prompting kids to try new foods — and if that fails, try again, and again.

That’s the model Dr. Harris favors, because kids get a lot of their eating cues from parents. If they see their parents enjoying certain foods, they’re more likely to give it a try. If they’re given a wide variety of foods at an early age, they’re more likely to taste them — and continue eating them. But if they’re forced to “clean their plate” or are scolded for not eating something new, negative patterns result.

The Philips Avent plates help by offering an “interactive” mealtime experience in which parents tell their toddlers “stories” about the characters on the plate, encourage them to finish their succotash so they can see the little bunnies underneath, etc. All this may sound pretty basic — well-known parental tricks and strategies to get kids to eat; and they are. But with Dr. Harris and other consultants onboard, Philips Avent now has the data to back up these common-sense solutions to toddler eating.

At the squeaky-clean Philips Avent plant (Philips acquired the brand in 2006), we also heard testimony from Judy Moore, a registered dietician who clued us in on baby’s nutritional requirements. During the first two years, kids need fewer calories but more nutrients, so offering a good diet is key. But the challenges remain: getting them to eat their veggies and fewer fatty snacks in between. Moore spoke to some of the difficulties Filipino moms face: Some may resort to baby multivitamins, which are fine, so long as you don’t exceed the recommended dosage; lactose intolerance can be avoided by switching to non-lactic sources of protein; and child obesity is often rooted in eating for “comfort,” not simply taking pleasure in food. “If they eat and eat, maybe they’re not really hungry, they want comfort. So it’s better to distract them with a book or a game rather than a snack.”

Finally, we heard from Vicki Scott, a midwife, professional nanny, and breastfeeding consultant for Philips Avent. She spoke about breastfeeding challenges in the UK, but these also apply to the Philippines: how to get new mothers to continue feeding even when it’s difficult. She cited figures:

Pump it up: Philips Avent manual breast pump and the patented anti-colic bottle design.

• 81 percent of new mothers breastfeed.

• 90 percent of mothers who give up breastfeeding before six months later wish they’d continued.

• Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is best for babies.

• Mixed feeding (alternating with bottle) after six months leads to less drop-off in breastfeeding among mothers.

Here are a few other fun facts:

• Breastfeeding uses up about 500 calories per session, so it helps mothers lose some of their pregnancy weight.

• Breastfeeding saves money. Mothers spend about P100 per day on formula. That’s P3,000 a month that could come out of the breast instead of the pocket!

She said the difficulties — insufficient milk, rejection of the breast, painful nipples, tiredness among moms — can mostly be addressed with advice from other mothers, breastfeeding support groups, and — not surprisingly — Philips Avent’s line of baby care products.

In the Philippines, Avent sales are climbing, partly due to the efforts of Christine Tan and Tadashi Yoshikawa, senior marketing managers for Philips Consumer Lifestyle Global Division. Under them, the brand has grown by double digits in the region for the past four years.

“Since Philips came onboard, we’ve stepped up quite a bit,” says Tan. “We want to tap the opportunity there. With breastfeeding awareness growing in the Philippines as well, we want to encourage mothers to breastfeed even more.” It may seem odd, a maker of baby bottles promoting breastfeeding. But after all, they sell breast pumps as well. This also speaks to a reality that Philips Avent has been able to capitalize on: Lower fertility rates, even in Asia, means parents now spend more money and time per baby. This makes Avent an aspirational brand — something for parents who want the best advantages for their children.

Perfect blend: Since Philips acquired the UK brand Avent in 2006, they’ve made even more innovative products, like the Steamer & Blender.

“Avent is definitely a more premium brand,” agrees Tan. “As babies get fewer and mothers delay having babies, once they have the babies, they want the best. That’s where Avent comes in, giving expert advice, developing additional information for them that maybe some parents don’t have.”

As we celebrate Health Month this July, Tan and Yoshikawa see the brand spreading outside of Metro Manila’s relative prosperity and — through sponsored antenatal classes in hospitals, seminars and workshops for mothers — reaching far reaches of the Philippines, where parents might normally opt for the cheapest bottles and baby solutions. “As economies get more fluid, we do see more mothers jumping on the Avent bandwagon, which is what we want them to do,” she concludes.

It’s thirsty work, but somebody’s got to do it.