Nurturing ideas into a thriving business

If there was a Breaking Barriers Award for Breastfeeding, Mi'Ann Reyes-Oblea would be a sure winner

- By ANETH NG-LIM

The UP alumnus with a Business Administration degree under her belt was on the right path of building a management career. After graduation, she worked as product manager for Home Cable during its heyday. Five years later, when the telecommunications industry was exploding, she moved to Smart Communications to build a premium client base with Smart Gold and Smart Infinity. When digital banking was taking off, she joined the leading foreign bank in the country to promote its online banking platform, Citibank Online.

While with Citibank, she became pregnant with her first child. Most women find this to be both an exciting and frightening time - nurturing a new life and having to make what feels like hundreds of decisions from choosing your doctor, where and how to give birth, names for your baby, to hire help or not and so many more.

And while first pregnancies can be a confusing period for most mothers, Oblea was crystal clear on one thing: she will breastfeed her child and do it exclusively. Three children and eight breastfeeding years later, Oblea's family is thriving and so is her "fourth" child - Babymama - acknowledged as the top breastfeeding store in the country.

Tell us how Babymama started.

When I was pregnant, I promised myself that I would exclusively breastfeed. I started taking malunggay everyday when I was still pregnant and all throughout my breastfeeding. I forged through bleeding and pain which felt like 10/10.

I also prepared by buying a breast pump from abroad, thinking ahead for when I had to go back to work. The breast pump I bought was good but expensive. I thought to myself this would be a stretch for most moms if they wanted to buy a great breast pump.

On my second pregnancy, my doctor put me on bed rest so I decided to resign and shortly after that, I launched Babymama.