MANILA, and for that matter, the Philippines, is one of the most unfriendly places for parents and babies.

The prevalent yaya culture, of which I am a product, has turned Filipino society into one where most parents have never changed their babies nappies, and most babies only learn to socialize when they?ve learned to walk and no longer pose an inconvenience to others during shopping trips or meals out with the family.

My baby does not have the luxury of a full-time yaya. We live in London, where nannies make more than most Filipinos in multinationals.

Hence, my baby is my constant companion. We spend every moment together, and my pushchair is my main form of transport.

I know every elevator and baby-changing room in my local mall. I know which underground and light rail stations are pushchair-accessible. We only eat in baby-friendly restaurants, and I think my brain is now wired to look out for access points in public places.

My greatest fear now is coming home for the holidays. Based on the conversations I?ve had with other moms who have gone home with their babies, it?s going to be a horrific experience.

I already know of the massive lack of baby-changing facilities in our supposedly ultra-modern malls, and the disgusting stench that permeates in those that do have them.

One friend found herself using the ladies? room sink in the domestic airport to change her baby, and the baby almost rolled off! It?s appalling to think that in a country whose populace is well versed in the latest luxuries, something as basic as baby care is dismissed as unnecessary.

What to do

Install baby changing facilities in public bathrooms, and do so in both the women?s and men?s toilets.

Better yet, follow London?s lead and make the toilet for disabled customers a separate room altogether, so that either parent (or even both!) can enter the cubicle and change the baby.

Most airports, stores and restaurants have baby-changing facilities built into their disabled toilets. In fact, McDonald?s near Trafalgar Square even locks theirs so that only parents with babies (and not selfish, thoughtless adults) can use them.

The new Westfield Mall in London even went so far as to construct a parent?s room. The room has a play area, private feeding area, changing stations and cubicles where kids and parents can go in together.

Harrods also has a fairly nice changing room, although my main complaint is that the changing tables assume all mothers are over 5 foot 5!

Coffee shops and restaurants would also do better if they were baby-friendlier, because moms are a good market. My local coffee shop has a regular clientele of pushchair moms meeting for cake and coffee during their non-peak hours.

Keep the toilets clean. Nothing is worse than changing a baby in a stench-filled cubicle. One friend couldn?t bear the thought of changing her daughter in one of Manila?s high-end mall?s toilets that she ended up changing her in her car, which is both dangerous, and not to mention, tight!

It would also help to provide hand sanitizer dispensers and disposable changing mats, and getting companies like Huggies and Pampers to sponsor nappy-vending machines.

Install more elevators in malls and buildings. They are safer than escalators, especially for kids and parents with pushchairs.

For some reason, most of our malls have very few elevators, and they?re usually located in the service area and not promoted to the general public.

Newer London developments such as the Canary Wharf business district and upgraded underground stations have elevators in strategic areas, even on footbridges. Using pushchairs in escalators is discouraged.

Make our public transport more accessible. The MRT is great, but tackling some of its stations? stairs with a pushchair would be very dangerous. There are elevators, but if they?re broken, poorly maintained or just plain stinky, mothers would have no choice but to take the risky route.

Buses would also do well to upgrade their facilities. All London buses have spaces for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and courteous drivers even lower their units when a parent climbs on with a pushchair.

Provide safe baby high-chairs in restaurants to encourage parents to bring their babies out. Kid-friendly menus would also be helpful.

Wagamama, one of London?s popular Japanese restaurant chains, always reserves seating for parents with pushchairs (located in the restaurant?s corners so that kids can make noise), provides high chairs with safety belts and has a menu of their popular dishes in kid sizes.

Their waiters also give priority to parents with kids when the lines get very long.

A McDonald?s restaurant outside London even has specially-made tables where parents are on one side eating on a normal height table, while the other side drops to a kid-friendly height to allow parents and kids to eat together comfortably.

Perhaps the local McDonald?s can follow this design for its Philippine stores?