Back in July, Jencel, a fellow SPiN mom, got in touch with me about the possibility of the group working on a breastfeeding campaign. As soon as she mentioned it, I got really excited. First, because SPiN was initially formed as a breastfeeding support group so this cause was near and dear to me. And second, the SPiN admins were actually trying to figure out what we could do to celebrate Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August. And this was a perfect activity to pursue.
A few days after Jencel and I talked, I met with Tim Jimenez, the Creative Director of the project, together with Jencel and Mitz, the Marketing Head of SPiN. Tim mentioned that this campaign would focus on reminding breastfeeding moms that they are not alone and that feeding their baby is a beautiful, natural thing that should not be subject to any shame or social pressure. I told him that I had some apprehensions about tying-up initially because in the breastfeeding community we do not want moms to think that they need malunggay supplements or other galactagogues to have a successful breastfeeding relationship and journey. To increase their supply all they need to do is allow their babies to latch as often as possible. Basic law of supply and demand --- the more baby nurses directly, the more your body will produce milk. We want breastfeeding moms to take supplements to help make them healthy, not for them to make milk. He assured me that although this breastfeeding awareness campaign is spearheaded by a malunggay supplement, it would not be a hard sell. He shared that he really pushed for this campaign because he believed in and supported breastfeeding because he saw how it benefited his child whom his wife breastfed for a year. He also said that the project director and photographer, Anna Varona, also breastfed all her 6 children for a minimum of one year! Tim then presented an initial working logo, a video peg for the project as well as other possible mechanics for the campaign. We gave our input and we agreed on tasks and timelines. The more we discussed, the more excited we got because it was was becoming more real.
As soon as Tim left, Mitz and I started brainstorming on which SPiN mommies to tap. We agreed that we needed some diversity. We wanted as many breastfeeding moms to be represented --- moms with newborns, some with babies who were starting solids, moms with toddlers, working moms and stay-at-home moms. After coming up with a shortlist we started contacting them. And that is where the real work began! Getting schedules aligned was the most difficult part really. After a week or so, we were able to get the assignments finalized and confirmed with the moms. But of course as with most activities, we ran into some unforseen issues during the actual shoot days --- a baby got sick so they had to back out, a mom had to work real late the night before so was aaking for a reschedule, rain staryed falling during a scheduled outdoor shoot, etc. The shoot happened over 5 days and despite all the obstacles we were able to successfully shoot 12 mom & baby breastfeeding dyads (pairs) --- Kring, Anna, Tin, Liza, Lei, Shine, Jencel, Lulai, Jah, Kat, Mel and myself. Anna said that she had fun working with all the moms. She also related how until now breastfeeding in public seems to still be taboo as she witnessed and captured on camera various negative reactions to the SPiN moms who were nursing. But overall, all the shoots were a success. The raw material was finally submitted on the 30th of July. And then the wait began. It felt like forever. I was dying to see the finished material.
Three weeks later, I received an email from Tim. It contained the posters as well as the video. As I opened and browsed my heart was pounding. My smile got bigger and bigger as I browsed through the photos which were wonderfully shot by Anna (www.annavarona.com). You could feel the joy, love and connection that the moms had with their nurslings. The video on the other hand was catchy and feel good. They were all beautiful. It made me so proud to be part of such a campaign and proud to be part of South PiNanays. Finally, on August 30 during the Breastfeeding Awareness Celebration at Asian Hospital where I was a speaker, South PiNanays together with representatives from Natalac, unveiled the Feel Free to Feed Campaign Posters and Video. The mommies, daddies, doctors ans nurses in attendance loved it. And so did we.
This campaign is a labor of love. One that is at testament to SPiNs committment and dedication to promoting & normalizing breastfeeding and to supporting moms and moms-to-be in their breastfeeding journey. Because truly, Breastfeeding IS Best Feeding.
What do you think of the campaign posters and video?
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