Bayer’s “Mission 1000+” campaign to boost nutrition knowledge for parents-to-be

29 Oct 2020 --- Global health enterprise Bayer is launching Mission 1000+, a campaign to raise awareness of nutrition’s importance in child development.

The campaign is hot on the heels of a Bayer survey, which shows many parents and parents-to-be do not understand the damaging impact poor nutrition can have, even before conception, on a baby’s growth and development. 

For instance, 75 percent did not know that poor nutrition can affect sperm quality. Sixty percent did not know nutrition impacts a baby’s development during pregnancy, and 53 percent did not know supplements can improve infant health before conception, during pregnancy, or breastfeeding. 

“We know understanding the right nutritional demands at each point of the prenatal journey is difficult and can be confusing. That’s why we are launching Mission 1000+ as a new, long-term initiative with the aim of growing nutritional knowledge,” Jennifer Kaczmarek, head of consumer health communications at Bayer, tells NutritionInsight.

Research was collected across the US, Australia, Russia, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and China. 

Differences between men and women were also widely misunderstood. Forty-six percent of participants thought only women need to prepare physically for conception and pregnancy, and 70 percent were unaware that male fertility could be impacted by diet. 

Respondents in Egypt showed the lowest level of awareness on male fertility and nutrition. 

Bayer’s campaign will include collaborations with consumers, health care providers (HCP), policymakers and NGOs to improve nutritional knowledge worldwide. It will also help consumers to make informed decisions to help their babies get a healthy start in life. The company has already begun projects with this goal in mind. 

Over half of people do not know that poor nutrition during pregnancy affects babies’ development.“In Germany, earlier this month, we hosted an expert talk at the German Society of Genecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) Congress called 'The First 1000 Days – Basis for a Healthy Life.' We brought together experts from gynecology, obstetrics, pharmacy, and nutritional research to discuss this topic,” says Bayer. 

Nourishing the Future 
Nourishing the Future is one of the largest global research projects of its kind and collected feedback from 8,500 people of childbearing age across the US, Australia, Russia, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and China. 

Seventy percent of participants were female and 30 percent were male. Meanwhile, 6,500 were planning to conceive, pregnant or breastfeeding. 

Participants responded to questions about their understanding of topics such as the importance of nutrition from conception through to birth and breastfeeding. 

They were also quizzed about the role of supplements throughout pregnancy, birth and early days of life. The differences in attitudes toward – and knowledge of – nutrition in both men and women intending to conceive, was also part of the questionnaire. 

Mission 1000+ 
Following the research findings, Bayer is launching Mission 1000+ to draw attention to the importance of nutrition during the first thousand days of a baby’s life, starting at conception. 

The company is also planning to expand its nutritional supplement Elevit, a multivitamin brand developed for use in all stages of pregnancy. “We are committed to helping every baby get the best start in life,” says Ella Schaefer, a leading nutritional specialist at Bayer.

“Therefore, we continue to invest in clinical trials to ensure the impact of our Elevit range is understood and verified. We have just completed two major clinical studies on Elevit 2 and Elevit 3, which prove the benefits of once-a-day supplementation to complement maternal diet and ultimately on a baby’s development.”

“The findings of this real-world data research – such as that once parents-to-be understood the importance of nutrition in the first 1000 days, 51 percent would change their diet or lifestyle – show how important it is to raise awareness of the first 1000 days,” Schaefer concludes. 

Growing market for fertility supplements 
The research and campaign launch comes amid growing interest in supplements aimed at the fertility and pregnancy market. 

Cambridge Diagnostics Institute (CaDi) recently announced it is launching AI-backed omega 3 supplements designed to prepare women for egg retrieval and IVF. 

Researchers at CaDi say that lifestyle choices and nutrition negatively impact fertility worldwide, and supplements have an important role in helping the 28 million women who face fertility issues each year. 

Other developments include a rise in selenium and gut health products in the prenatal supplements market. 

By Louis Gore-Langton