Best for Babes Debuts Game-Changing Breastfeeding Ad in USA Today

June 25, 2010 - PRLog -- The Best for Babes Foundation is releasing a provocative new breastfeeding ad in a special Pregnancy & Wellness Report to be inserted in USA Today on June 25th in the greater metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.   The Best for Babes Foundation was established in 2007 to fight the barriers to breastfeeding, and to give breastfeeding a makeover by using mainstream marketing and branding.
According to the ad, the real miracle isn't the bra, but mothers, and their ability to make milk for their own and others' babies.  Best for Babes urges parents to get the right support to navigate the "Booby Traps"--the cultural and institutional barriers that keep mothers from making informed feeding decisions and carrying them out.  "Most moms want to breastfeed, and don't realize how they are being undermined by the very institutions that should be helping them.  Whether they breastfeed for 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years or not at all, they deserve to achieve their personal goals.   We're clearing through the information clutter--much of it misleading--and are showing them how to succeed and who they can trust, much like a personal trainer or nutritionist would for someone who wants to get fit," says Best for Babes Co-Founder Bettina Forbes.  
The ad, which is part of a series of arresting visuals,  is the first of its kind that aims to raise awareness of the "WHO-Code"--the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and direct parents to hospitals, doctors, employers and resources that are WHO-Code compliant.   "Most parents don't know that the WHO-Code was created to protect parent's right to make an informed feeding decision at one of the most vulnerable and precious times of their lives--the birth of a child,   explains Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC and a leading expert on WHO-Code compliance.   "The aggressive marketing of artificial human milk substitutes has been shown to undermine breastfeeding intention and success, and parents should be careful about where they turn for breastfeeding support." The ad also acknowledges breastfeeding industry companies such as Evenflo, Numom Nutrition, 60 Second Parent, Pumpease, My Baby Experts, Earth Mama Angel Baby, My Milkies, and Be Nice that are WHO-Code compliant and support Best for Babes' mission to beat the "Booby Traps” and change the cultural perception of breastfeeding.
Unlike government and state breastfeeding campaigns that have come under fire for using scare tactics,  unappealing visuals, or making moms feel judged or guilty, the Best for Babes ad campaign is eye-catching, fun, and designed to cheer on, coach and celebrate moms.  "We want moms to have an awesome, empowering breastfeeding experience, " says Best for Babes Co-Founder Danielle Rigg.  "All parents want what's best for their babies.  They deserve support and resources, and those who can't breastfeed deserve access to the next best substitute:  pasteurized, screened human milk from a registered donor milk bank."  The six-figure ad campaign was created pro-bono by Frank About Women, a leading marketing-to-women communications group.  It has been positively received for bringing levity and a fresh approach to a persistent public health problem. Best for Babes aims to raise funds to continue the series on billboards and bus stations.    The USA Today Pregnancy & Wellness Report, produced by Media Planet, will reach 2.2 million readers in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York; will be distributed to ob/gyn offices and physicians through the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will be carried in all Destination Maternity stores, distributed at March of Dimes events, will be circulated to 25,000 members of the United States Breastfeeding Committee and all member organizations, and all physician members of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.  
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The Best for Babes Foundation, a non-profit 501c3, was established in 2007 to give breastfeeding a makeover by using mainstream marketing and branding to inspire, prepare and empower moms, and to raise awareness of and fight the barriers that keep moms from achieving their personal breastfeeding goals, despite their best intentions.  The Best for Babes Web site offers breastfeeding inspiration, help for moms who don’t want to breastfeed, a ground-breaking checklist for expectant moms, important information about navigating the “booby traps,” as well as opportunities to become involved and donate.
For more information about the ad or Best for Babes, visit www.bestforbabes.org.

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Best for Babes is a non-profit helping moms beat the “Booby Traps“–the cultural & institutional barriers that prevent them from achieving their personal breastfeeding goals. BfB markets breastfeeding to be as mainstream as motherhood itself.