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Editor’s Choice Awards
The Editor’s Choice Awards are based on recognising the great passion and work undertaken by individuals, organisations and brands, in supporting mothers, babies and children - often without us realising it! By Kay Marham
In the course of producing the magazine, I am lucky to gain much information about the community, environmental and family health initiatives undertaken by individuals, organisations and brands. These often involve deep research, dialogue and lots of exposure to the quality of thinking that quietly goes on for your benefit. I can tell you that there is an almost invisible world around you that is constantly working behind the scenes and striving to help and support mothers, children and families - and The Editor’s Choice Awards represent among the finest!
Babyshop
This Editor’s Choice award is for Babyshop is simply because the brand continues to impress me with their dedication and genuinely caring attitude towards mothers and their children. I have personally received calls from the team to discuss ideas for helping low income families; and their recent charity-partnered Ramadan initiative to let loose 40 children of single parents into one of their stores to choose themselves new outfits and items - all without fanfare or publicity. Babyshop wants the best for every mother - whether that means providing high quality fashion choices for their children at affordable prices, or starting at the beginning to ‘hold the hand’ of newly pregnant mums by pairing them with their in-house free Personal Shopper service to sit down, talk about their needs and give friendly advice accordingly. It’s very telling that every mother trusts Babyshop And I do too, hence this award.
EDITOR’S CHOICE: HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR (Joint Winners)
Dr. Imran Asad, Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant; & Dr Christos Tzivinikos, Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist - both from Al Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital
Dr Tzivinikos and Dr Asad are both Specialists at Al Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital. Their experience in children’s medical emergencies and gastroenterology (the branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the stomach and intestines) has made them leading experts in the country for recognising and treating children in the event they swallow a lithium coin cell battery. If a child accidentally swallows one of these batteries, the chances are that nobody will notice for a while, and during that time, the corrosive substances in these batteries can do a great deal of harm if left untreated. Both Dr Tzivinikos and Dr. Asad know only too well how much harm can be done to children, so they spearheaded a fantastic campaign of awareness to inform parents of the dangers
of lithium coin cell battery ingestion, and what to do in the event that they even suspect a child may be at risk. Creating collaboration with the media, the Duracell brand of batteries, Al Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital itself; and directly presenting to mothers themselves - their dedication to caring for the health of children goes far beyond the call of duty - hence this award.
EDITOR’S CHOICE: BEST MOTHER & CHILD HEALTH DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
Dr Giovanni Bisanti, Chiropractor and Functional Neurologist at Amwaj Polyclinic
Dr Giovanni Bisanti is a very special healthcare professional, and one whom I consider to be the region’s top Chiropractor and Functional Neurologist. His extensive range of chiropractic work includes working gently with babies and children in many aspects of helping them to develop healthily. His outstanding (and caring) work with pregnant mothers includes helping them to reduce the back pains and physical discomforts of pregnancy, and also help to prepare them for a smoother, easier birth. His work also includes helping overdue pregnant women to start labour, in a calm, natural, non-invasive way - thereby often eliminating the need for external interventions to induce labour at the hospital. Dr Bisanti’s work involves identifying and rectifying imbalances in the brain and body that may cause a range of health issues in adults and children. These include ADHD, strengthening their immune system, sports injuries, as well as a wide range of physical conditions, as well as issues with mood too. As chiropractic work can often help almost everybody to improve their health and be a better version of themselves, Dr Bisanti represents the best of a natural approach to helping our mothers and children.
EDITOR’S CHOICE: BEST SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE
Al Ain Farms
For a company that was established 40 years ago, Al Ain Farms have always been a forward-thinking company. Today they are the largest dairy company in the country, running four farms under their brand - each concerned with providing healthy food products to nourish families in the UAE. These include Dairy Business; Fresh Juice; the Camel Milk production, and their Poultry Business, which produces fresh chicken and eggs. This means that they have been feeding families for two generations with some of the core food staples we take for granted. The farms maintain best-in-class animal care and welfare standards for its family of cows; and all milk is naturally produced from happy cows, without any antibiotics or added hormones. Al Ain Farms work to ethical and sustainable practices, and therefore help to look after our children’s environment and future.
EDITOR’S CHOICE: INNOVATION AWARD
Philips Avent
The origins of the Philips Avent range of bottles and teats started in a rubber business nearly 100 years ago! Fast forward to almost 60 years later, in 1984, and a pair of new parents were deciding how best to feed their new baby from a bottle - and that discussion eventually resulted in a huge innovation in how baby bottles and the rubber teats were designed. Even though the brand and their logo is familiar to most parents, Philips Avent has quietly been helping babies to intake their nutrition for three generations now - hence recognising their contribution with this Innovation Award.
PARENTING
This month’s parenting section aims to support you in times of stress. We also look at the emotions of teenagers.
