- Touch is essential to the development of babies[2]
but for the 1 in 13 babies in the UK that are born
premature[3], with skin twice as thin as a full-term
baby[4], it can be a challenge.
- 82% parents who spent time on a neonatal unit with their
premature baby felt nervous to touch their little one with more
than half citing skin fragility as the main reason.
- Pampers wants to empower parents to feel confident in caring
for their premature baby by creating essential moments of touch and
bonding. Their Pampers Preemie Protection Nappy is specially
designed to be extra gentle on even the most fragile of skin whilst
also having a customisable fit to accommodate for medical lines and
leads.
- Ahead of World Prematurity Day (November
17th), Pampers is working with first-time mum,
broadcaster, author and world champion dancer, Oti Mabuse,
whose daughter was born at 28 weeks, to share her experiences on a
neonatal unit and help raise awareness of Pampers Preemie
Protection nappies.
LONDON, Nov. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Premature babies' skin is two times thinner than
that of a full-term baby which makes it highly sensitive to touch.
Despite this vulnerability, touch is vital for premature babies as
it's the first sense a baby develops. These moments of touch and
skin-to-skin contact can support their development as it increases
levels of oxytocin[5], an essential hormone
to create a familial bond.
Although touch helps premature babies, parents can feel
concerned around its impact on babies' skin and therefore be
prevented from having these essential bonding moments. The new
research conducted by Pampers found that 82% of UK parents with
babies born prematurely felt nervous to touch their baby whilst in
neonatal care, with 52% citing the fragility of their skin as the
main reason.
Fortunately, with the right information and support from
neonatal professionals, parents can build confidence and be
empowered to become partners in their babies' day-to-day care with
essential interactions that support bonding. This approach is known
as Family Integrated Care (FiCare), an important advancement in
neonatal care, which positively impacts infant development, and
improve the mental health of parents.
FiCare includes skin-to-skin moments such as nappy changes,
which enable parents to feel more confident when having essential
interactions. 92% of parents surveyed agreed that being involved in
nappy changes whilst on a neonatal unit helped them to bond with
their baby and 78% agreed these special moments of touch had a
positive impact bonding in the longer term.
That's why Pampers continues to support Bliss, the UK's leading
charity for babies born premature or sick. Caroline Lee-Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss
says, "We are strong advocates of Family Integrated Care and
know the positive impact that it has on both babies and parents. We
are so proud of our long-standing partnership with Pampers, whose
nappy donations help to ensure parents and babies don't miss out on
essential interactions, including nappy changes, even whilst on a
neonatal ward".
Pampers Preemie Protection nappies were developed with neonatal
nurses and parents to be extra gentle on even the most fragile of
skin. Designed to fit around medical lines and leads, the nappies
aim to make nappy changing easier for parents and nurses and
support up to 6 hours of leakage protection to help keep babies'
delicate skin protected.
Since 2017, Pampers has donated more than 2 million of their
Pampers Preemie Protection nappies to UK hospitals and parents.
This World Prematurity Day (November
17th), Pampers is partnering with broadcaster,
author and world champion dancer, Oti Mabuse, whose daughter was
born at 28 weeks, to help raise awareness of Pampers Preemie
Protection nappies by sharing her prematurity experience.
Oti Mabuse says: "It's coming up to my little girl's first
birthday and it's incredible to look back and think about her entry
into the world less than a year ago. A neonatal unit can be a
daunting place for any parent, but thankfully the nurses
were so supportive and encouraged my husband Marius and I to be
involved in her day-to-day care. I'm so proud to be partnering with
Pampers as we used the Pampers Preemie Protection nappies whilst on
the neonatal ward. We are so grateful that they allowed us to have
those special moments of touch and bonding during nappy changes,
whilst keeping her delicate skin protected."
To find out more about touch, its role for premature babies, and
Oti's own story, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtrAUVXZ_F8
.
If you'd like to help raise awareness this World Prematurity
Day, then you can show your support too. For every Pack of
Pampers nappies and nappy pants purchased in Boots between
Nov 6th 2024 and
Jan 2nd 2025 Pampers will
donate 1 premature nappy to UK premature babies in the UK (T&Cs
apply). Please visit pampersforpreemies.pampers.co.uk for more
information.
To find out more about Bliss and Family Integrated Care, please
visit:
https://www.bliss.org.uk/health-professionals/family-integrated-care/what-is-ficare
www.facebook.com/PampersUKIre
Instagram:@PampersUK_IRE
Twitter:@Pampers_UK
Imagery and Video in the following link:
https://lion.app.box.com/s/muz7o4zniie8myoeygb8p1866hj50f1m/folder/292281719809
PRESS CONTACTS:
Isobel.wilson@pgone.co.uk
About Pampers®
At Pampers, we believe in
the power of working together - with parents, experts and our
valued partners - to make babies' world better, today and in the
future. That's why, for more than 50 years, parents have trusted
Pampers to care for babies' happy, healthy development. Pampers is
a part of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and is the
#1-selling nappy worldwide. Every day, more than 25 million babies
in 100 countries around the world wear Pampers. Pampers offers a
complete range of nappies, wipes and training pants designed to
provide protection and comfort for every stage of baby's
development. Visit www.pampers.co.uk to learn more about Pampers
products, our latest innovations and for a chance to win
rewards.
Pampers, together we make babies' world better.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves
consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of
trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®,
Ariel®, Bold®, Braun®, Daz®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gillette®, Head
& Shoulders®, Herbal Essences®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®,
Pampers®, Pantene®, Tampax®, Venus® and Vicks®.
Although headquartered in the US, P&G was founded by an
Englishman and an Irishman in 1837, our heritage lives on through
the work of Research & Development Centres, Manufacturing
Plants and Business sites, across the UK & Ireland.
Beyond our Purpose, Values & Principles, the foundation on
which P&G was built and our guiding force for over 180 years,
we aspire to be a force for growth so that we can be a force for
growth in the communities in which we live and work. Through
our citizenship priorities, we want to build a better world for all
of us - inside and outside of P&G - free from gender bias, with
equal voice and equal representation. Environmental sustainability
is embedded into our business, and has been for decades, and we
have a strong track record of delivering on our goals in this
area. We support communities around the world through our
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To learn more about P&G UK and Ireland, our brands, and our Citizenship
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About Bliss
Bliss exists to give every baby born
premature or sick in the UK the best chance of survival and quality
of life. We champion their right to receive the best care
by supporting families, campaigning for change
and supporting professionals, and enabling life-changing
research. Bliss was founded in 1979 by a group of concerned parents
who discovered that no hospital had all the equipment nor the
trained staff it needed to safely care for premature and sick
babies. Determined to do something, these volunteers formed a
charity to give vulnerable babies the care they deserve. More than
40 years later, Bliss has grown into the leading UK charity for the
90,000 babies born needing neonatal care every year.
Registered charity no. 1002973
[1]Pampers Prematurity Research September 2024 UK; Sample 302 Parents of children
aged 0-4 born prematurely
[2] Aslam MD, et al Development of Fetal Senses:
Implications in Intrauterine and Postnatal Life
[3]
https://www.bliss.org.uk/research-campaigns/neonatal-care-statistics/prematurity-statistics-in-the-uk#:~:text=How%20many%20babies%20are%20born,before%2037%20weeks%20of%20pregnancy).
[4] Visscher M, Narendran V. The Ontogeny of
Skin. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2014 Apr 1;3(4):291-303.
[4]Aslam MD, et al Development of Fetal Senses:
Implications in Intrauterine and Postnatal Life
[5]Vittner, D et al. Parent Engagement Correlates
with Parent and Preterm Infant Oxytocin Release during Skin-to-Skin
Contact. Advances in Neonatal Care. 2019 19 (1): 73–79
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtrAUVXZ_F8
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2550122/Pampers.jpg
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