This World Prematurity Day, Pampers Pledges to Donate Its Smallest Nappies to the 60,000 UK Babies Born Pre-term Every Year

In partnership with Bliss, the UK's leading charity for babies born premature or sick, Pampers is aiming to ensure that every premature baby in the UK gets access to its Pampers Preemie Protection nappies to support much needed sleep

LONDON, Nov. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

• 1 in 13 babies, more than 60,000, are born prematurely in the UK each year, and need specialist care to support their early development – including a nappy made specially for them
• Sleep is crucial to supporting physical and emotional development in premature babies, so Pampers launched smallest ever nappy to help minimise disruption to avoid disturbing them
• This World Prematurity Day (17^th Nov), Olympic Cyclist and father of a premature baby, Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Bliss Ambassador Lady Sarra join forces with Pampers to help donate hundreds of thousands of nappies to UK hospitals

1 in 13 babies (around 60,000) are born prematurely in the UK every year*, and this World Prematurity Day, Pampers is pledging to donate hundreds of thousands of premature nappies to UK hospitals to help make sure that every baby born too soon has access to nappies designed to support their unique development needs.

Premature babies sleep up to 97% of the time. And while sleep is important for every baby's happy healthy development, it is even more crucial for babies born prematurely as it is the foundation of their healthy physical and emotional development. However, unavoidable factors in the neonatal unit such as lighting, noise, frequent repositioning, regular medical interventions and nappy changes can affect premature babies' precious sleep cycles.¹

Offering a customised fit to minimise disruption, and designed to support uninterrupted sleep for even the most fragile babies, the Pampers Preemie Protection nappies are specifically designed for the littlest babies.

Having experienced prematurity first-hand, Chris Hoy and his wife Sarra said: "When our son was born prematurely, we saw how much care and support was needed to help his early development. Having a nappy created especially for premature babies ensures a correct fit, improving comfort and ensuring their sleep is less disturbed. It's also important for parents, making the tricky process of nappy changing within the incubators a little easier and will help reassure them during such a precious time."

Since 2017, Pampers has donated hundreds of thousands of its Preemie Protection nappies to premature babies via UK hospitals, and now wants to spread the word further and increase the number of nappies donated.

Justin Irwin, Interim CEO of Bliss said:  "I'm delighted that Pampers are campaigning to raise awareness of such an important cause. It is crucial that premature babies' sleep is as uninterrupted or undisturbed as possible and the design of this nappy helps with that. As a result of these nappies being donated to hospitals, more parents will feel confident about getting involved in their baby's nappy changes and care."

As well as being the right size for low weight and premature babies, the Pampers Preemie Protection nappy has all over fastening, gentle flex cuffs and an absorb away liner to help babies on neonatal units stay dryer for longer to avoid disturbing their sleep.

Emma Gerrard,  Pampers Marketing Manager said: "For more than 60 years, Pampers has been developing products which support the happy healthy development of babies. Rest and comfort is vital for those born premature and with the launch of our preemie nappy to help accommodate undisturbed sleep, we can now make sure we're there to help every baby, from day one, including those born early. We continue to find new ways to innovate our premature nappies to ensure their unique needs are supported."

UK parents can help donate more nappies. For every pack of Pampers purchased in ASDA between 7^th November 2019 and 7^th January 2020, in partnership with Bliss, the largest charity for premature and sick babiesin the UK, Pampers will donate a Pampers Preemie Protection nappy to UK hospitals. In addition to this, for every share of a 'hand heart' image posted to social media² using #PampersForPreemies, £1 will also be donated to Bliss to support premature babies' much-needed sleep.

Pampers Preemie Protection nappies are available in sizes P1 (<5lb/ 2.7kg) and P2 (<4lb/ 1.8kg) and P3 (<1.8lb/ 0.8kg) and will start to be donated to hospitals from January 2020.

To arrange product sample delivery, UK hospitals are advised to contact pampers.preemies@sykes.com  

For further information, please visit:
www.facebook.com/PampersUKIre
Instagram: @PampersUK_IRE 
Twitter: @Pampers_UK

About Pampers®

For more than 50 years, parents have trusted Pampers to care for their babies. 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.com to learn more about Pampers products, join the Pampers Rewards program, and find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep and play.

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®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene® and Vicks®.

Our commitment to Citizenship is supported by our Purpose, Values and Principles. They are the foundation on which P&G was built, and they have been our guiding force for over 180 years.

We aspire 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. P&G continues to be a leader in environmental sustainability and we have been incorporating it into our way of doing business for decades.

P&G makes an impact in communities around the world through our people, our family of brands and our partners by delivering the comforts of home, health and hygiene and specifically here in the UK & Ireland through our charitable efforts and Community Impact programme, which supports projects and charities that align with P&G's mission to be a force for good, and a force for growth.

To learn more about P&G UK and Ireland, our family of brands and our Citizenship programmes please visit www.pg.co.uk  or follow us on Twitter @PGUK.

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. 40 years later Bliss has grown into the leading UK charity for the 100,000 babies born needing neonatal care every year.

Registered charity no. 1002973

References
¹ Mahmoodi N, et al. (2016). Nurses' Awareness of Preterm Neonates' Sleep in the NICU. Global Journal of Health Science. 8(6) 226–233. 
² Posted on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter 
* https://www.bliss.org.uk/research-campaigns/research/neonatal-care-statistics/prematurity-statistics-in-the-uk

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