The Natural Nipple Goes to Nepal

That’s right! Our founder and CEO, Lauren, is heading to Nepal to do customer and product research, and also to learn about their techniques and culture around breastfeeding. 

So, why? Nepal is one of the countries that has been very successful in implementing the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and it’s currently estimated that around 66% of babies under 6 months are breastfed, and the rate of children still breastfeeding at 2 years is around 89% (reported by the World Health Organization (WHO)). 

The recommendation by WHO is currently to have at least 6-months of exclusive breastfeeding. And we will emphasize the at least part. They say that it is ideal to provide breastmilk for up to 2 years since it can still provide the crucial nutrients and energy they need during this time. 

Our current customer discovery has been predominantly with caucasian, middle class moms in the United States, but we recognize that the challenges faced with breastfeeding are on a global scale so we want to continue to learn about the challenges women face with breastfeeding with as much variation and diversity as we can. 

In order to be able to address the global market, we need to be able to discover the challenges that women face in countries that have the worst breastfeeding continuity rates (the U.S. is one of the worst), as well as learn from the challenges that moms are able to overcome in countries that have some of the best breastfeeding rates (Nepal is one of the best). 

“Because Nepal has some of the best breastfeeding rates in the whole world, I firmly believe it is crucial to parallel our research, which began here in the U.S. identifying what the primary barrier is to breastfeeding, and discover what women who experience nipple confusion and latching issues in Nepal are doing to cope.

Is it some angle they position the baby at? Some sort of cultural guidance that is passed down from generation to generation?”  - Lauren Wright 

She will be working with Dr. Prakash Sunder Shrestha, President of the Nepal Breastfeeding Promotion Forum, to conduct her research. 

The Natural Nipple will be the first company to recognize a problem at the clinical level and continue to do global research to make the best possible solution for families worldwide. Here are some of the questions she’ll be asking the women, 

• Did you experience difficulty latching in your breastfeeding journey?
• If so, what do you think caused that?
• What do you think helped you through that?
• Did you experience difficulty latching if/after you introduced a bottle?
• What do you look for when you buy a bottle? What kind of bottles have you tried? What made one better than another?

When Lauren conducted her first study on what the common barriers to prolonged breastfeeding are, she found that among the women she surveyed Nipple Confusion was the most common. 

Data from our survey conducted with currently and previously breastfeeding mothers. In our study, Nipple Confusion includes confusion related to shape and feel of the nipple and breast, as well as confusion caused by the difference in milk flow rate between the mothers' breast and the bottle nipple. *Deficiency has many variables, which includes if a mother gave birth preterm which impacts her milk supply.



Her goal is to find out if Nipple Confusion is one of the larger issues in Nepal as well, and what other challenges women there face. 

But you can hear more about it from her! Watch the interview with Lauren to learn more about her goals on her voyage to Nepal.