Posts Tagged "tetanus"

Pampers Big Kiss-The Reason

Posted by cafebebemama on Oct 16, 2010 in Pampers Big Kiss | 1 comment

Just a reminder…this is why we need your help. Click on the Pampers Big Kiss badge on my sidebar to donate a vaccine to eliminate Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

Thank you for your support.

Why Should I Care about Pampers Big Kiss?

Posted by cafebebemama on Oct 1, 2010 in Pampers Big Kiss | 0 comments

You may have heard about a very special campaign courtesy of some very enthusiastic bloggers. Pampers and UNICEF have teamed up for the 5th year running to campaign to eliminate Maternal and Newborn Tetanus. It’s called the Pampers Big Kiss. I’ve asked you to CLICK and/or purchase Pampers 1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine nappies and  wipes to do your part. But you might be asking, “Why should I care about Pampers Big Kiss?” Well, let me tell you why…

• More than 80 years after the vaccine became available MNT still threatens the lives of 170 million women and their newborn babies in 40 countries around the world.

• Approximately 386 million doses of TT vaccines will be required to protect an estimated 170 million women at risk of contracting the disease

• In 2010, it has been calculated that approximately 59,000 newborns die annually from newborn tetanus, and thousands of women from maternal tetanus. (2010 WHO figures)

• This means, that even though MNT is easily preventable by a simple vaccine, every nine minutes, one baby still dies needlessly of MNT.

Every 9 minutes one baby dies needlessly of Maternal and Newborn Tetanus. It doesn’t have to be. Our children are safe and healthy and never have to worry about tetanus. Why shouldn’t every child be the same? There is enough strife and struggle in the lives of these mothers and children in places like Cameroon. Don’t they deserve a chance to have one of the most preventable killers NOT be a factor for them?

All you have to do is CLICK! Simply click on the badge below. You don’t even have to get up off your couch, get in your car and go to the store to buy anything. You press CLICK…once. You’re done. Your part is accomplished.

Thank you…from the bottom of my heart. You have saved a life with a click. It doesn’t get much better than that. I know that these mothers would thank you too if they could. Perhaps their smiles say it all?

Pampers Big Kiss Wednesday

Posted by cafebebemama on Sep 29, 2010 in Pampers Big Kiss | 0 comments

Photo Credit: UNICEF Cameroon/2010/Hearfield

Bridget Apum sits at the grave of her granddaughter Eyah who died from tetanus on 15^th September 2009.  Eyah is buried behind the family home in the village of Ofen. Eyah was 15 days old.

Support the Pampers/UNICEF 2010 Campaign to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus. It’s simple…buy a pack of Pampers nappies/diapers or Pampers wipes with the “1 Pack- 1 Vaccine” message on it. Click HERE to visit the Pampers site to simply “click” a vaccine (1 click per IP address). By doing either or both you save a life. Little Eyah didn’t have to die. YOU can make a difference. Maternal and newborn tetatnus is totally preventable. Stop children and mothers from dying. Spread the word and save a life.

1 Pack, 1 Vaccine

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 10, 2009 in Blogger Love, Motherhood | 7 comments

BBC’s Children in Need is just around the corner, as is Christmas.  It’s these times of year that we all start to realise how fortunate we are to have the things we have and are able to do the things we do.  I participated in the launch of the Pampers-UNICEF 1 Pack=1Vaccine at the beginning of October.  It’s now the middle of November and I want to remind you of the cause and encourage you to continue giving throughout the months of November and December to help Pampers & UNICEF achieve their goal of 100 million vaccines to help stamp out newborn and maternal tetanus.

If you need a reminder, Pampers has agreed to donate 1 vaccine for every pack of Pampers nappies and/or Pampers wipes with the special 1 pack = 1 vaccine logo on them.  One of the High Street stores supporting this effort is Boots.  Here is more about Boots’ effort:

Help Save a Life with Boots and UNICEF

From now until 15th December 2009 Boots is offering its customers the opportunity to help protect vulnerable mothers and babies in the developing world from tetanus through UNICEF’s free vaccination programme.

For every pack of Pampers and Fairy Non-Bio sold in store or online at www.boots.com, Pampers will donate one tetanus vaccine to UNICEF’s campaign to help achieve the charity’s goal of eradicating newborn and maternal tetanus by 2012.[i]

Furthermore, Boots will also donate one extra vaccine for every purchase of its limited edition baby bib – only £2.

Tetanus is still a major global public health problem in developing countries. An estimated 500,000 cases occur every year, killing approximately 200,000 young babies and 30,000 mothers.[ii]

So far, the UK campaign has delivered 40 million vaccines to at-risk mothers and babies in the developing world with Boots donating over one million vaccinations to UNICEF last year alone, a figure it hopes to exceed in 2009.

The offer includes all Pampers nappies and Fairy Non-Bio products. For every pack of Pampers wipes sold (priced from £1.39), a donation towards a vaccination will also be made.

This offer is part of Boots’ commitment to support UNICEF whilst also providing its customers with excellent value quality products.

A newborn receiving their first tetanus vaccination

Thank You Boots!  So, for anyone who has environmental issues with disposable nappies, Boots is here for you.  Fairy Non-Bio purchases, Pampers Wipes and the limited edition bib all count in the push for those 100 million vaccines.  You know you’ll be going to Boots anyway…they have an outstanding Children’s Christmas Toy Department as well…so get thee to a Boots and do your part to erradicate newborn and maternal tetanus.  Thank you for your support and happy shopping!

Pampers Gift of Life

Posted by cafebebemama on Oct 1, 2009 in Blogger Love, Pregnancy & Baby | 8 comments

Imagine this:  You’re heavily pregnant with your fifth child and are living in Africa.  You’re not living in a flat or a lovely house with running water.  You’re living in a hut with a dirt floor, difficult living conditions and less than hygienic medical clinics which are hours away over challenging terrain.  You go into labour.  There’s no one to help you so you go it alone, give birth, cut the umbilical cord with as clean a knife as you can find.  One of the rituals of your tribe is to rub the soil, which happen to be full of germs, dung and ashes, into the umbilical cord of your newborn child.  Unbeknownst to you, your precious newborn baby is immediately infected with tetanus, a deadly disease caused by bacteria that lives on dead and decaying matter in soil, animal dung and faeces, usually begin with the contamination of an open wound.

When the bacteria enter an open wound they begin to work as a nerve toxin (poison), affecting the central nervous system and causing painful and uncontrolled muscle spasms. Tetanus can cause one of the most painful deaths known to man.  Newborn tetanus strikes rapidly. A newborn infected with tetanus may appear perfectly healthy. Symptoms usually appear from three days after birth, when the baby’s jaw and facial muscles may tighten due to the tetanus poison. The baby’s mouth will continue to grow more rigid so that it becomes “locked” (thus the name “lockjaw” given to tetanus) and the newborn will no longer be able to breastfeed. The newborn’s body may stiffen or arch and he or she may convulse when stimulated by light, sound or being touched. Finally, the newborn may no longer be able to breathe and will therefore die.

Maternal and newborn tetanus are completely preventable through immunisation and hygienic birth practices. Tetanus Toxoid (TT) is a safe and inexpensive vaccine that not only protects women of childbearing age against maternal tetanus for three years but also passes on protection through maternal antibodies via the placenta to their babies. Two doses of the tetanus vaccine are needed to protect the woman and any baby born to this woman during a 3 year period. The baby is protected for its first 2 months of life.

A newborn receiving their first tetanus vaccination

I had the honour of attending a very special press conference in London on Monday where some amazing UK bloggers were privy to the launch of the 2009 Pampers-UNICEF campaign for maternal and newborn tetanus vaccinations.  Natascha McElhone, star of the films “The Truman Show”, “Ronin” and “Solaris” and the hit US television show “Californication”, is the 2009 celebrity spokesperson for the Pampers-UNICEF campaign.  She shared her experiences after visiting Angola earlier this year.  Natascha comments, “As a mother in the UK, I’ve never had to think about the devastating effect of tetanus. However I was shocked to learn that it is still killing thousands of mothers and their babies in less industrialised countries. Once newborn tetanus has been contracted there is no real cure and within days of exposure it can lead to a fast and painful death. I am proud to be supporting the Pampers-UNICEF campaign to help eliminate newborn and maternal tetanus and give these women and their babies a chance to live a happy, healthy life”.  Natascha shared some amazing stories about the conditions these proud and brave African woman are enduring and was even present during labour and delivery of some babies.  The reason the African women had made it into the health clinics was due to the unending efforts of the “social mobilisers” (health visitors) who work tirelessly and voluntarily to educate and inform the Angolan women of the dangers of unhygienic birth practices and the vital importance of the tetanus vaccinations both for mother and baby.

Natascha McElhone, Pampers-UNICEF spokeswoman

Pampers has joined forces with UNICEF for the fourth year running as part of its ongoing dedication to helping eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus by 2012.  Since the start of the campaign in 2006, thanks to the support of mums in the UK and around the world, Pampers has provided the funding for a life-saving dose of the Tetanus vaccine for a mother and her baby every two seconds. This amounts to over 200 million tetanus vaccines donated to UNICEF.  This year, together with the support of UK mums, Pampers is hoping to raise the funding for a further 100 million vaccines to help UNICEF eliminate this deadly disease history.

You are now probably wondering, “what can little old me do”?  Well, it’s immensely simple.  During the months of October, November and December of 2009, for every pack of Pampers nappies and/or wipes purchased with the logo “1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine”, Pampers will provide the funding for one life-saving vaccine to help protect both mother and baby.  That’s it!  All you have to do is buy a pack of Pampers nappies or wipes with the logo “1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine” and you have effectively saved a life.  “Uh, pardon me…we don’t use Pampers!” you say?  Well, guess what?  Maybe for a month, you could?  Or maybe you could buy a pack for a friend who does use Pampers!  And if you really can’t use Pampers nappies, go for their wipes!  That will count as well.  It couldn’t be simpler, really.  What are you waiting for?

In addition to purchasing nappies and wipes, you can feel free to donate through www.pampers.co.uk or better yet, click on the badge below my RSS coffee cup feed button.  You’ll be immediately re-directed to the Pampers-UNICEF campaign page to make a donation for an amazing cause.  And if you’re really feeling generous, YOU’LL PASS IT ON!  Pass on “the gift of life” to your friends, family, acquaintances, bloggers, random strangers.  Encourage them to donate by setting an example and challenging them to do the same.  If we all make a little extra effort in the next three months, that goal of 100 million vaccines and elimination of tetanus by 2012 will be obliterated.  Give the gift of life this year; make a difference.

Despite the fact that it is completely preventable through an inexpensive vaccination, over 128,000 babies in less industrialised countries will not live to see their first birthday every year due to the disease and it’s not just babies – thousands of women will also die from maternal tetanus.

To make a donation towards the Pampers and UNICEF tetanus campaign that will help to reach more children around the world or for further information about the campaign please visit www.pampers.co.uk or www.unicef.org.uk/pampers

Natascha McElhone & the Midlands Bloggers

Natascha McElhone admiring the Lovely Little Miss

Little Miss & her amazing Godmother enjoying the press conference

Natascha McElhone sharing her experiences