We want to make the world more baby-friendly by furthering our commitment to understanding and addressing babies' unique needs. We aim to aim to solve social issues surrounding babies and mothers in all countries and regions we operate. We strive to create a future, full of joy and freedom, that treasures the amazing brilliance inherent in every baby, that encourages curiosity, and that celebrates diversity.
The Tiny Birth Cry Support Project
Babies born prematurely, babies with low birthweights, and babies born with medical conditions that require special treatment. Pigeon’s Tiny Birth Cry Support Project is designed to help these babies, in the hope that every family can experience peace of mind and happiness.
Products for babies who require specialized support
Our products draw on more than 60 years of product development based on infant research and feedback from parents. For example, our nursing bottles and nipples are based on research into how babies suckle from a range of perspectives, including monitoring at our Central Laboratory, observing families at home, and observing babies’ oral cavities through ultrasonic tomography in maternity clinics. Committed to enabling all babies to enjoy better sucking, Pigeon conducts joint research with neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) at hospitals and clinics and works in other ways to develop exclusive products so that infants with low birth weight or disabilities can drink breast milk and packaged milk with minimal effort. These include a nursing bottle for babies with cleft lips and/or palates, a feeder with a long silicone nipple, and nursing nipples for babies with weak sucking. We also offer a special Preemie Care pacifier for babies born prematurely to help ease the pain of treatments and procedures. In 2021, we introduced a new disposable bottle exclusively for breast milk storage and pasteurization that enables safer and more hygienic storage of breast milk in human milk banks. In 2022, we launched Precious Drop, a device that supports the collection of colostrum from mothers to ensure that premature and low birthweight babies get as much of the mother’s precious colostrum as possible, specifically for clinics and maternity wards. Also, in China, we developed a special oil for low birthweight babies to alleviate issues caused by underdeveloped skin. Our accumulated expertise, gained from our constant support of babies in need of specialized care, is reflected in general product development activities and is directly linked to the superior performance of Pigeon-brand products.
Addressing issues that enfold babies and their families
Support for Human Milk Banks
As part our activities for babies and families in need of specialized care, we support human milk banks in Japan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and elsewhere. These facilities collect breast milk donations, pasteurize them at low heat for safety, and provide the breast milk to babies with very low birthweight (less than 1,500 g at birth) whose mothers are unable to provide enough breast milk to them due to illness or lactation issues. In September 2020, we provided comprehensive support for the Nihonbashi Human Milk Bank, the second of its kind in Japan at the time, which opened on the first floor of our Head Office. In 2021, we engaged in promotional activities to raise awareness of human milk banks, including serving as the facilitator of a roundtable discussion for donor milk recipient families led by the Japan Human Milk Bank Association. Based on the results of the discussion and a survey conducted by Pigeon, in 2022, we compiled the Donor Milk Recipient Brochure and started providing it free of charge to hospitals using donor milk with the aim of deepening understanding and eliminating reservations around the use of donor milk. The brochure outlines the safety and efficacy of donor milk and includes accounts from families who have used it. This helps to supplement knowledge gaps and assist families in making informed decisions regarding the use of donated breast milk. Since 2020, we have conducted the “#Saving Tiny Lives” campaign whereby a portion of proceeds from designated products such as nursing pads and breast milk freezer packs is donated to the Japan Human Milk Bank Association. The campaign has received strong support, and we have donated approximately ¥10 million over three years.
Pigeon Preterm Infant Health Insurance (China)
In November 2018, Pigeon (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. partnered with Ping An Insurance Company of China, Ltd. to establish the country’s first “preterm infant health insurance.” While neonatal care is advancing in China, currently many families are obliged to cut treatment short for economic reasons. This insurance supports families with premature babies by providing relief for such economic burdens.
Our Sustainable Actions "Pigeon Preterm Infant Health Insurance (China) "
Mental health support for families of late preterm infants: The Pigeon Smile Lactation Research Institute
In March 2014, we launched the Pigeon Smile Lactation Research Institute in collaboration with various specialists on mothers and babies during breastfeeding, with the aim of identifying issues regarding the breastfeeding period and offering solutions. Since 2018, we have conducted research aimed at better understanding the feelings of mothers of late preterm babies (those born 34–36 weeks after conception) who have been admitted to NICUs or growing care units (GCUs), and we have presented our findings at academic
conferences. Our research revealed the need to provide emotional support to mothers of babies born prematurely. As part of our support efforts, we worked with members of our research team to produce a booklet for the families of late preterm babies admitted to NICUs/GCUs and distributed it free of charge.
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Academic presentation at the 59th General Meeting of the Japan Society of Maternal Health
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Support booklet for families of late preterm babies admitted to NICUs/GCUs
Lactation Research Activities: Pigeon Smile Lactation Research Institute
In 2014, we launched the Pigeon Smile Lactation Research Institute, where we work with specialists involved with mothers, fathers, and babies to identify issues during the breastfeeding period and provide solutions to them. Seeking to “Create a society that values more babies growing up healthy and more mothers and fathers finding happiness in childrearing,” in 2016 we produced the Happy Breastfeeding Support Book, a comprehensive compilation of information on nursing. As of December 2022, we had distributed around 890,000 copies of this booklet free of charge.
Establishing and supporting lactation lounges
Pigeon is committed to fostering environments in which any mother can raise babies on breast milk with peace of mind, and to supporting mothers who wish to return to the workplace after childbirth. To this end, Pigeon has helped to establish or offers ongoing support to around 450 lactation lounges in 24 countries and regions (as of December 2022).*
* From 2013 to 2021, Pigeon supported around 10,000 lactation lounges in China, contributing to the establishment of a nursing environment. As of December 2021, Pigeon supported a total of 11,005 lactation lounges in 23 countries. However, in 2022, Pigeon began to shift its focus to more challenging issues in China, including helping to establish human milk banks to support low birthweight babies, donating funds and products to support babies with cleft lip and/or palate, and participating in volunteer activities to support babies in need of specialist care.
Our Sustainable Actions "Supporting Human Milk Bank for Babies Born Small (China)"
Our Sustainable Actions "Supporting Babies with Cleft Lip and/or Palate (China)"
Baby Friendly Future Project
In 2021, we launched the Baby Friendly Future Project, which connects ideas and action across the entire company in order to create a baby-friendly future.
We began offering an educational program for Japanese junior high school students called “Lesson for Learning About Babies: For a More Baby-Friendly Future,” and have provided teaching materials to around 130 schools so that teachers can teach the lesson to their students.
For more information about our Baby Friendly Future Project, see here (Japanese).
Vision of a Baby-Friendly Future website