Tesco is Backing the Pampers UNICEF Campaign in the Global Fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

From October to December, Pampers and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, come together for the eighth year to launch the “1 pack = 1 vaccine” campaign. This year, Tesco has upped the stakes and set the challenge to its shoppers to help raise the cost of one vaccine every second of the campaign period – that’s nine million life-saving vaccines helping to protect the lives of 3 million women and their newborns! 

A team from Tesco and Pampers visited Senegal, West Africa, to see the success of the UNICEF vaccination programme and meet those who have witnessed the devastating effects of MNT first-hand:

Ami Seck tragically lost her first baby boy to tetanus;

“After a few days, we noticed the child was trembling excessively,” Mame Touty, Ami’s mother-in-law says, “We spent nine days in hospital, but the boy died on the tenth day. When it happened we were very dejected. After the regretful incident, Ami became pregnant again, but we learnt lessons, we had an antenatal care package, and everything went smoothly. Everyone knew that our baby boy died but we are a living example of how you can get out of the maze.”

Moussa Pouye is the Chief Nurse at Dabaly Health Post, Nioro District, Senegal talk about dealing with a case of tetanus;

“I had to deal with a case of tetanus where the lady had no antenatal care or tetanus vaccinations. I met with the Supervisor of the Health Centre and he gave me 200 doses of tetanus to do an immediate campaign in the area to avoid another case. We made sure all other women in the village were protected. The village, Touba Saloum, now has its own Health Hut and all the women are subscribing.”

Ways you can help:

Visit your local Tesco today and pick up your pack of Pampers or buy online at Tesco.com:

1 Pack = 1 Vaccine

During October – December 2013, for each Pampers^®- UNICEF pack purchased, Pampers^® will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to support UNICEF in the fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.                                                                                 

UNICEF Pledge Donations

By becoming a monthly donor to UNICEF today you can join thousands of other parents who donate every month to improve the lives of these vulnerable children. Visit www.supportunicef.org/Pampers to see the difference that you can make.

Guest post hosted in association with Pampers.

Pampers Top Tips for Parents

Although Christmas is a happy and exciting time with a young family it can also mean over excitement, strain on relationships and lack of routine. That’s why the Pampers Village Parenting Panel experts have compiled their ultimate tips for an enjoyable festive season with baby – so everyone can treasure those wonderful Christmas memories.

Baby Development advice from Dr Maggie Redshaw:

·         The first Christmas stocking is really exciting – bubbles to blow, finger puppets and small picture books are great for babies and parents. Interacting through play helps to facilitate conversation through facial expression, sounds and movement.

·         Babies really enjoy wrapping paper and boxes at Christmas, and play with them as they would expensive toys so there is no need to spend a lot, but just take care about items that might not be so good to put in the mouth. A box can be a boat, car or den so use your imagination to bring games to life – this will help baby develop through social and make-believe play.

·         Christmas is usually a time for lots of indoor play, but make the most of it when it’s bright and crisp to get out to the park to try a kick around with a ball or play in the leaves/snow – this will help baby to develop physically while having fun.

Sleep advice from Wendy Dean:

Christmas can be a disruptive time when you are trying to establish or stick to a baby sleep routine. Here are some tips to ensure that your baby will be asleep when Father Christmas arrives:

·         Try and keep your bedtime routine consistent whether you are at home or at a relative’s house. Your baby will then be prepared for sleep, despite the excitement going on around them.

·         If you do take your baby out in the evening to enjoy a Christmas festivity, do the bedtime routine at home, put them in pyjamas under their coat, feed at the normal times whilst you are out and then when you get home, your baby will be ready to be put directly to bed.

·         Do a wind down routine in a quiet room before daytime naps so that your baby takes a break from the excitement and throngs of people to prepare for sleep.

Skin health advice from Dr David Atherton:

Winter is tough on everyone's skin, but especially in the case of babies with naturally sensitive or dry skin. Consider the following:

·         You can use a humidifier in baby’s bedroom – if you can, make sure it incorporates a hygrometer to shut it down when the humidity is optimal to prevent dampness.

·         Apply a protective moisturiser to baby’s face and hands before leaving the house, and re-apply on your return (this one can apply to mum too!)

·         Cover the skin when outside. Use gloves, a scarf and a hat to help keep baby’s skin protected and warm.

·         Make sure your home isn't too hot and dry, especially in baby’s bedroom. Turn down the boiler setting, make sure it is off at night and, if you can, get some house plants to help increase the humidity.

Health and fitness advice from Laura Williams:

·         Try and resist the temptation to buy too many Christmas treats in the run up to the big day. Reduced price tins of chocolates, packets of mince pies and tubs of peanuts will be calling you after a long hard day and if you’re cold and tired, willpower alone might not do it. Put off stockpiling them for as long as you can, or stash treats in the car or even in the garden shed – this will make them trickier to access when cravings come calling.

·         Have some sort of Christmas fitness plan. Pledge to just 15 minutes a day over the holidays to get your heartbeat raised. You don’t even need to lace up your trainers – a game of Hide & Seek could burn quite a few calories in a relatively short space of time with your toddler, while a long(ish) post-lunch walk (45-60 mins) with the family will burn off a small helping of Christmas pud.

·         Try and curb your big eating days to just two or three over the Christmas period. For example, give yourself a green light to eat what you like on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and for the other days, try and practise moderation, e.g. say no to a mince pie and have a satsuma instead or swap a handful of peanuts for a handful of olives.

Pregnancy advice from Midwife, Mary Steen-Greaves:

·         Take a relaxing bath with some lavender drops added to help you de-stress and a warm milky drink to help you have a good night’s sleep.

·         Try not to over eat, especially late at night. Eat small meals frequently to help your digestion and keep spicy and fatty foods to a minimum.

·         You will still need to wrap up to keep warm when outdoors even though you will feel warmer than usual due to your increased blood. Wear comfortable, sensible footwear to help you maintain a good posture and reduce the risk of slipping in the cold (possibly icy) weather.

Relationship advice from Denise Knowles:

·         Involve toddlers in making presents and wrapping them. Taking time to make cards and gifts together helps build the bond between parents and child...it is fun too!

·         Delegate as much as possible and ask family to provide elements of the festivities; they'll feel part of your family and useful – and you won't feel so stressed. Share the 'chores' too. And if you are pregnant, don't feel guilty about relaxing and putting your feet up; you need to be a little self-indulgent.

·         Discuss and stick to a budget for all of the Christmas festivities, presents, food and outings to avoid any disagreements in January when the bills start rolling in.

·         Make some time just for you, it's not selfish to take some time out and sit with a cuppa.

And don’t forget that for more than 40 years, Pampers has been helping to improve the lives of babies, toddlers, and the parents who care for them with a range of products - comprising nappies and wipes, specifically designed for every stage of a baby’s development. As well as all the expert advice Pampers has to offer, its product range will help keep baby dry, comfortable and playing for longer over the festive season:

Pampers New Baby:

Pampers New Baby with Dry Max and its unique Dual-Absorb System provides your newborn with Pampers best protection. They help protect his delicate skin from wetness, and support him to experience a soft and protected start in his new life.

Pampers Active Fit:

And when your baby outgrows New Baby, it’s time to switch to Pampers Active Fit which is Pampers driest, best fitting nappy, helping baby play without interruption and explore the world around him.

Pampers Easy Ups:

Easy Up nappies absorbs like a nappy, works like a Pampers – great for fast and easy nappy changes.

Pampers Wipes and Mats:

Pampers Sensitive wipes, Baby Fresh wipes and Pampers Changing Mats all offer additional support, helping to make mum’s life easier. 

For more information visit the Pampers Village, www.pampers.co.uk or connect with other mums and log onto the new Pampers UK & Ireland Facebook page.

Christmas only comes once a year, so enjoy!

What's In a Nappy?

I was very happy to be among a group of Mummy Bloggers invited along to visit the Pampers Plant in Manchester.  I have always favoured Pampers above other brands of nappy for convenience, quality, reliability and comfort.

The plant situated in Trafford park has recently celebrated its 75th birthday.  Over the years it has produced a vast array of Proctor and Gamble products, but for the last three years has been the sole manufacturing plant in the UK for Pampers.  The employees are proud to work for this company. 30% of workers have achieved over 20 years service.  The management system is based on respect and it values everyone for playing their part.

We were given a presentation by Chris the Plant Manager giving us a brief history of the plant.  It was amazing to see how things have changed over the years.  We learned how the plant has strong links to the community, involving itself in action for children, enterprise and in donating products and services.

What's in a Nappy?

We had the opportunity to study the structure of a Pampers nappy.  They have a dual layer, with a cellulose top sheet over a core containing absorbent gel.  This locks in moisture away from the skin.  The back sheet is breathable without allowing liquid to escape.  Pampers Active Fit uses much less pulp than previous nappies making it much thinner, and resulting in less waste.

Me and Financial expert Nicola Cairncross find out what's in  a nappy!

We were shown a demonstration of the effectiveness of the gel.  300ml of liquid was poured onto the gel and it was fully absorbed very quickly.  This means that the nappies have less sagging and are dry to touch very quickly.  This makes baby comfortable and prevents nappy rash.

We were given a guided tour of the plant where we saw how nappies are made.  The process was incredibly efficient and the machines were impressive.  Long strips of raw materials whizzed by until being cut and sealed into individual nappies.  The finished product was then packaged into packs and boxes and continued their journey across a maze of conveyor belts to be packed onto pallets by robots and ferried by automated carts to storage.  The warehouse which stored the nappies was absolutely huge with thousands of units ready for shipping to the shops in the UK and for European export.  It was incredible and the speed of the process from raw material to the finished product was impressively quick!  

Along the route of the nappy, various Quality Control tests take place.  We saw the test to check the strength of the ears of the nappy (the bit which does up around baby's waste) to see how easily they rip away.  We also saw an absorbency test for the nappy core.

We also had the opportunity of meeting the experts from the Pampers Village Parenting Panel.  This is a group of professionals selected from all areas of pregnancy, child development and family wellbeing.  They are there to provide the latest information and advice to help parents through this crucial stage of their life.

The experts were all specialists in their field and happily answered all of our personal questions.  They were all very open, friendly and approachable.  I learned a lot about child development and managing finances from the Q & A over lunch.

The PVPP can provide up to the minute advice on fertility, pregnancy, baby development, skin, money, relationships, fitness, nutrition and sleep.  So whatever stage you are at, Pampers Village can help.  Check out the website for tips, news, forums and information.

There is growing concern about the use of disposable nappies and their impact on the environment, so I questioned Pampers resident scientist regarding this.  P & G have worked closely with environmentalist Julia Hailes who says:

"I've been working as an environmentalist for over 20 years – writing books, making speeches and advising companies, including P&G, on what they should be doing. One of the most difficult eco-decisions I’ve had to make is whether to use cloth or disposable nappies. I chose disposables. Given that I'm a big campaigner on reducing waste this might seem surprising. But my view was that the environmental differences between the two products were not so great – and disposables performed better."

Here is a link to a paper summarising her research. http://www.juliahailes.com/pdfs/NappiesFactSheet-Nov10.pdf 

It makes interesting reading and offers a different perspective in the cloth vs disposable nappy debate.

I personally choose to use disposable nappies but because I manage my waste effectively, I never exceed the capacity of my grey bin that is collected two-weekly and that is with  a family of five living at home.  My contribution to landfill is not excessive and I try to offset the amount of rubbish we generate as a family by recycling, re-using and reducing in other areas.  I only do two or three loads of laundry in a normal week and I never tumble dry.

I'd be interested in other people's viewpoints!