MEDIA RELEASE
12 April 2010
A NICE PAIR Friendly Feeding Award Winners Announced
It's official.Auckland's North Shore is home to the most
supportive breastfeeding environment in the whole of New Zealand as
the inaugural 2010 Breastmates' Friendly Feeding award is handed to
Mairangi Bay's Café Windsor, with Sylvia Park's parent's room the
runner up.
The family-friendly café beat nine finalists and eighty-five
nominated businesses to be crowned the best place in the country to
breastfeed your baby.
With the North Shore home to many families - 47.5% of the
demographic are couples with children (5.5% above the national
average)* - it's sure to be a busy week for the cafe following the
announcement.
"Cafe Windsor's attitude to service blew us away," says Frances
McInnes, the founder of Breastmates award-winning online maternity
store. "From offering to cut up a mother's food so she could eat
with one hand while breastfeeding, to cups of water brought over
unprompted to any mother they saw breastfeeding, this cafe doesn't
just walk the talk - it's running the marathon when it comes to
being supportive to families!"
The Winner: Cafe Windsor (542 East Coast Bays, Mairangi
Bay)
"Our mission has always been to provide a place that our
customers can feel comfortable in and our customers are
predominantly mothers. Breastfeeding just isn't an issue, it's what
mothers do," says owner Alan Barrow modestly, who has run the café
with his wife for almost four years.
"Being child and mum-friendly has always been our point of
difference as we're situated off the main road."
Endorsement by Breastmates will no doubt ensure even more
visibility for the café among mothers in the region. Café Windsor
is located in the Windsor Park Baptist Church complex, which plays
host to Jumping Beans, Mainly Music and MOPS.
The Runner Up: Sylvia Park parent's room
Parents rooms are often the last place parents want to
breastfeed, so it's surprising that the second best place to feed
your baby, as voted by mothers, is the parents room at Sylvia Park
shopping centre.
"The parents room was always impeccable, with great facilities,
including a secure area for toddlers with child-décor and a kids
DVD playing. Parenting booths, with the option to close or leave
the curtain open, comfortable chairs for breastfeeding and clocks
in each cubicle made this an excellent choice," mystery mum's
judging comment.
"Many parent's rooms are obvious after-thoughts by management,"
says McInnes. "Being tucked away in a small, dingy room with no
outside light or entertainment isn't the first choice of women
doing something as natural as breastfeeding, but Sylvia Park's
parent's room has proved they can be done well and provide a haven
for a breastfeeding mum."
Windsor Cafe and the management of Sylvia Park's parent's room
will each receive a framed certificate, as well as promotion on
www.breastmates.co.nz and to their database of New Zealand
mothers.
The full list of nominated locations, as recommended by other
mums around New Zealand can be viewed online
here.
"We don't judge parents on whether they are breast or bottle
feeding, and we provide support for both methods on our website.
But it's great to know that other Kiwi businesses are providing
facilities and an encouraging attitude for those mums who do
breastfeed," says McInnes.
"Our hope is that Breastmates' Friendly Feeding Awards will
encourage more businesses to see the value for the community in
providing support to mums while they are breastfeeding their
babies," says McInnes, who is an guru on breastfeeding and was
involved with the Ministry of Health's breastfeeding campaign.
www.breastmates.co.nz
* source: Statistics NZ