As part of the campaign "A touch that means life", Pampers and UNICEF have raised 450,000 kuna (€60,800) for equipment intended for parents staying with their children in all 13 neonatal intensive care units in cities across Croatia.

Around 2,000 children are born prematurely in Croatia every year, and 400 of them need special care. Early skin-to-skin contact can help save their lives and facilitate their recovery.

“Premature birth is something parents usually do not expect and it causes a lot of stress,” UNICEF Croatia Office head Djurdjica Ivkovic said at a news conference.

Ivkovic said that until now parents at neonatal wards could only watch their children through the glass, while now they can stay with them and touch and hold them.

The campaign “A touch that means life” started in 2018, ahead of International Hugging Day on January 21, when Pampers photographed people hugging and gave a 1 kuna (€0.13) donation for each hug. In the second part of the campaign, by June 2018, it donated two kuna (€0.27) from each nappy box sold.

UNICEF and Pampers have equipped all the neonatal care unites in Croatia with equipment and aids which enable skin-to-skin contact, as well as nursing, while ensuring privacy and more humane treatment.

“Campaigns such as this one are very important to us, since all the existing equipment in intensive care is actually dehumanising this entire process. This donation has provided us with new resources which are proven to improve the results of treatment, reduce complications and cut down on the time children spend in hospitals,” said Ruza Grizelj of the neonatal intensive care unit at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.