Yvon Bock (born 1 January 1979, Singapore) is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Hegen, that provides baby and nursing products for breastfeeding mothers. [1] Bock founded Hegen in 2014 to simplify the processes of expressing, storing, and feeding breastmilk. In 2021, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recognized her as one of the everyday heroes at the National Day Rally for her contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bock was born on 1 January 1979, in Singapore. Her father, Chan Ching, is the managing director of plastics contract manufacturer Fitson Singapore, a sister company of Hegen. [2]
She attended Anderson Junior College and later pursued a degree in Computational Finance and Mathematics at the National University of Singapore. She also completed a Fashion Design course at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). [3]
Bock began her career in sales and marketing at Deutsche Asset Management Group Limited, where she worked from August 2000 to August 2004. Later, she joined her father part-time at Fitson and enrolled in a Fashion Design course at NAFA, sponsored by her father, with the intention of her joining Fitson upon completion of her course. [4]
Bock became an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). [5]
In 2014, Bock founded Hegen, a company dedicated to enhancing the nursing experience for mothers. The brand name "Hegen" is derived from the German idiom "hegen und pflegen". Bock started advocating for breastfeeding, protecting the integrity of breastmilk, and simplifying the process of expressing, storing, and feeding. The company operates in 24 international markets. [2] [6]
In 2021, Bock opened the Hegen Experiential Centre amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, offering parents a holistic experience with products, education, and customer service. [7] The same year, Bock established the Hegen Lactation Centre, providing professional expertise and science-backed information through International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants and maternal specialists. [8] [9] [10]
In 2016, Bock won the Great Women of Our Time award in the Finance & Commerce Category from Singapore Women's Weekly. [11]
In July 2018, Bock was the Overall Winner of the Nova Category at the Woman Entrepreneur Award by S. AUXANO. [12] [13] Also, in October 2019, she received the SOE Award from the Spirit of Enterprise. [14] In October 2020, Bock received the Silver Stevie Award by The Stevie Awards. [15] [16]
In November 2021, she was honored with the 'Asia's Women Empowerment Award' by Fortune Times. [9] [14]
Yvon Bock received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Singapore and the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 – Consumer Products awards and represented Singapore at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2024. [17] [18] [19]
In 2018, Bock partnered with Safe Place for "Hegen | Safe Place: The Best Gift Edition," supporting pregnant women and their families by conducting annual workshops, offering education and advice on breastfeeding. [1]
In 2020, under the initiative Hegen Cares, Bock donated 1000 Hegen PCTO Express Store Feed Kits to frontline pregnant workers handling COVID-19 cases. [13]
In 2023, through the Breastfeeding Ally@Work program, Bock collaborated with companies to implement family-friendly practices and facilities, promoting breastfeeding in the workplace. [5] Bock is a member of the Alliance for Action to Strengthen Marriages & Family Relationships (AFAM). [20] [21]
Bock is married to Leon Bock, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Hegen. They have four children. [22] [23]
A breast pump is a mechanical device that lactating women use to extract milk from their breasts. They may be manual devices powered by hand or foot movements or automatic devices powered by electricity.
Breast milk or mother's milk is milk produced by the mammary glands in the breast of human females. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborn infants, comprising fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and a varying composition of minerals and vitamins. Breast milk also contains substances that help protect an infant against infection and inflammation, such as symbiotic bacteria and other microorganisms and immunoglobulin A, whilst also contributing to the healthy development of the infant's immune system and gut microbiome.
A galactagogue, or galactogogue, also known as a lactation inducer or milk booster, is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals. It may be synthetic, plant-derived, or endogenous. They may be used to induce lactation and to treat low milk supply.
La Leche League International (LLLI) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that organizes advocacy, education, and training related to breastfeeding. It is present in about 89 countries.
Lactational amenorrhea, also called postpartum infertility, is the temporary postnatal infertility that occurs when a woman is amenorrheic and fully breastfeeding.
Erotic lactation is sexual arousal by sucking on a female or male breast. Depending on the context, the practice can also be referred to as adult suckling, adult nursing, and adult breastfeeding. Practitioners sometimes refer to themselves as being in an adult nursing relationship (ANR). Two persons in an exclusive relationship can be called a nursing couple.
The history and culture of breastfeeding traces changing social, medical and legal attitudes to breastfeeding, the act of feeding a child breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding may be performed by the infant's mother or by a surrogate, typically called a wet nurse.
A lactation room is a private space where a nursing mother can use a breast pump. The development is mostly confined to the United States, which is unique among developed countries in providing minimal maternity leave. Historian Jill Lepore argues that the "non-bathroom lactation room" and breast pumps generally are driven by corporate need for workers rather than mothers' wishes or babies' needs.
Lactivism is the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving a breastfeeding culture, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc. of breastfeeding. Supporters, referred to as "lactivists", seek to protest the violation of International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes by formula companies and industry. Lactivism is a subject that has conjured both negative and positive connotation across the Western world since the term rose in popularity around 2015. The controversial conversation of Lactivism has been noted to be influenced by personal identity, contradictive research, large corporations and political agendas. Breastfeeding being a personal decision, challenges arise with the abundance of voices weighing in in support and discouragement of lactivism. The preached beliefs about whether a mother should breastfeed span from condemning mothers who do not, implying or outright saying they are physically harming their babies, to the opposite end of the spectrum claiming breastmilk and breast feeding have no benefits whatsoever. Amidst the conversation of lactivism there’s a failure to address or reference anyone, cultures, or countries outside of the Western world. By omitting other approach’s, societal norms and reactions to lactivism it creates a narrow focus and excludes many breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfeeding difficulties refers to problems that arise from breastfeeding, the feeding of an infant or young child with milk from a woman's breasts. Although babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk, and human breast milk is usually the best source of nourishment for human infants, there are circumstances under which breastfeeding can be problematic, or even in rare instances, contraindicated.
Breastfeeding, variously known as chestfeeding or nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby's birth and continue as the baby wants. Health organizations, including the WHO, recommend breastfeeding exclusively for six months. This means that no other foods or drinks, other than vitamin D, are typically given. The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years and beyond. Of the 135 million babies born every year, only 42% are breastfed within the first hour of life, only 38% of mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, and 58% of mothers continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years and beyond.
The social attitudes toward and legal status of breastfeeding in public vary widely in cultures around the world. In many countries, both in the Global South and in a number of Western countries, breastfeeding babies in open view of the general public is common and generally not regarded as an issue. In many parts of the world including Australia, some parts of the United States and Europe, along with some countries in Asia, women have an explicit legal right to nurse in public and in the workplace.
A human milk bank, breast milk bank or lactarium is a service that collects, screens, processes, pasteurizes, and dispenses by prescription human milk donated by nursing mothers who are not biologically related to the recipient infant. The optimum nutrition for newborn infants is breast milk for at least the first 6 months of life. For women who are unable to breast feed or produce enough milk, pasteurized donor breast milk may be an effective approach to feeding. Breast milk supplied by a woman other than the baby's mother that is not pasteurized and informal breast milk sharing is associated with a risk of transmitting bacteria and viruses from the donor mother to the baby and is not considered a safe alternative. If pasteurized donor breast milk is not available, commercial formula is suggested as a second alternative.
Breastfeeding promotion refers to coordinated activities and policies to promote health among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding.
In Western countries extended breastfeeding usually means breastfeeding after the age of 12 to 24 months, depending on the culture.
Breastfeeding and medications is the description of the medications that can be used by a breastfeeding mother, and the balance between maternal health and the safety of the breastfeeding infant. Medications, when administered to breastfeeding mothers, almost always are transferred to breast milk, albeit usually in small quantities. The degree of impact on the nursing infant varies, with many medications posing minimal risk. Nonetheless, informed decision-making and professional guidance is needed.
Elisabeth Anderson Sierra is an American woman who holds the Guinness World Record for the largest individual donation of breast milk.
Gabrielle Palmer has been involved for over 40 years in international efforts to stop the unethical promotion of breastmilk substitutes globally and also to support appropriate infant feeding. She is the author of the seminal text, The Politics of Breastfeeding, now in its revised third edition and which has never been out of print.
Hegen is a Singapore brand incorporated in June 2014 that designs and produces breastfeeding pumps, storage containers, and bottles. Its flagship product is its Express-Store-Feed system with the patented Press-to-Close, Twist-to-Open (PCTO) technology. Its current CEO is its founder, Yvon Bock. Hegen was reported to be one of the top 10 fastest growing companies in Singapore and ranked #41 in the Financial Times "High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2022".
Hand expression of breast milk is a technique used by lactating mothers to express breast milk using their hands. It is an ancient practice that has been used by women across the world for centuries. Hand expression has gained renewed interest in recent years due to its affordability, portability, and effectiveness. It is an important tool for breastfeeding mothers, especially those who are unable to afford or access breast pumps.