Baar, Switzerland, Aug. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Medela, the brand trusted by millions of moms*, announced today a new feature in the award-winning Medela Family app coming later this month to raise awareness for the effort breastfeeding requires and celebrate a mother’s breastfeeding achievements. The new feature, called The Feed, will allow users to see and share a personalized recap of hours spent breastfeeding or pumping in addition to how much milk they’ve pumped throughout their breastfeeding journeys.

“We’re excited to announce this new feature in the Medela Family app during World Breastfeeding Week, in celebration of the commitment breastfeeding families make to provide for their babies and to elevate the reality of that commitment,” explains Annette Brüls, CEO of Medela. “As we work to extend support to families in achieving their current and future breastfeeding goals, we want to raise awareness about the hours spent breastfeeding and recognize the commitment of parents who breastfeed, because their efforts help to nurture health for generations.”

Global breastfeeding rates vary by region, country and population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global exclusive breastfeeding rate for infants under six months of age in 2021 is approximately 41%; including pumping, the rate is 65%. The highest breastfeeding rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 60% of infants are exclusively breastfed, and the lowest rates are in parts of Europe and North America.

Breastfeeding rates are largely determined by factors such as education, cultural background, hospital care and support, and workplace conditions such as length of maternity leave or breastfeeding-friendly workplaces. Medela is committed to enabling breastfeeding by raising awareness of the benefits of breast milk, advancing breastfeeding and lactation research and improving access to education, advocating for breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, and bringing products to market that enable families to successfully return to work.

Recently in the USA, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act was extended, offering more nursing mothers the ability to take a break at work to pump in a private, sanitized environment. Giving mothers the ability to track the amount of hours pumped and milk produced while at work is a crucial part of Medela’s commitment to supporting working families. 

The Medela Family app is used around the world by expectant and breastfeeding families to track from the first trimester through baby’s first years, offering personalized, evidenced-based guidance and easy tracking to simplify breastfeeding and pumping for new parents, including connectivity to Medela breast pumps, checklists for returning to work, virtual storage freezer, and more. 

Coming off of an exciting year of innovation by Medela, including the launch of Medela’s Freestyle Hands-free Breast Pump, Organic Breast Care Products, and extended, inclusive sizing for nursing apparel, Medela is excited to continue innovating to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

Download the Medela Family app for free from the App Store and Google Play. Visit medela.com/medelafamily for more information.

About Medela
Through advancing research, observing natural behavior and listening to our customers, Medela turns science into care while nurturing health for generations. Medela supports millions of moms, babies, patients and healthcare professionals in more than 100 countries all over the world.  As the healthcare choice for more than 6 million hospitals and homes across the globe, Medela provides leading research-based breast milk feeding and baby products, healthcare solutions for hospitals, and clinical education. Medela is dedicated to building better health outcomes, simplifying and improving life, and developing breakthroughs that help moms, babies and patients live their life to the fullest. For more information, visit www.medela.com. 

*Medela global sales, 2022
Medela wordmark and logo are registered in the U.S. Trademark Office. Medela Family is a trademark of Medela. 2023 © Medela 

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• Medela Launches New Feature in the Medela Family™ App to Celebrate Breastfeeding Milestones

Kate Schraml
Medela
medelateam@ogilvy.com