WPD

(c) EFCNI: The Olympic tower in Munich is illuminated purple on WPD 2018

World Prematurity Day on 17 November is one of the most important days in the year to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. The day was initiated by EFCNI and partnering European parent organisations in 2008. The international co-founders LittleBigSouls (Africa), March of Dimes (USA) and National Premmie Foundation (Australia) joined the celebrations and made World Prematurity Day an intercontinental movement. Meanwhile, countless individuals and organisations from more than 100 countries join forces with activities, special events and commit to action to help address preterm birth and improve the situation of preterm babies and their families.

Everyone is warmly invited to join this day with activities or events: parent organisations, hospitals, non-profit organisations, healthcare professionals, societies, companies, politicians, media, and individuals. No matter how much time, money or manpower you are able to spare – even with simple things you can make a difference!

Besides the colour purple which stands for sensitivity and exceptionality, the socksline has become a symbol for World Prematurity Day. The small pair of purple socks – framed by nine full-size baby socks – symbolises: 1 in 10 babies is born preterm. Worldwide.

The global theme for World Prematurity Day 2022 is:
A parent’s embrace: a powerful therapy.
Enable skin-to-skin contact from the moment of birth.

We are happy to provide you with our new campaigning material for World Prematurity Day 2022 soon.

You will find further material like logo badges, social media graphics and banners – also available in several languages – and a Social Media Toolkit for your World Prematurity Day campaign. You can access all available materials as well as the toolkit also by clicking on the resources box below.

Missed our  Live Q&A Session on Kangaroo Mother Care and skin-to-skin care practices?

You can now re-watch the recorded session. Just click on the button below.

Recorded session available here

Learn more about our speakers

Dr. Nathalie Charpak

Dr. Nathalie Charpak is the scientific coordinator of the three Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) Centers of Excellence in Colombia. Dr. Charpak holds a medical degree from Paris-Sud University and a Paediatrician diploma from Rene Descartes University in Paris, France. She migrated to Colombia in 1986, where she began to work on the evaluation of the KMC-Method. Since 1994, she is a co-founder, director, and senior researcher of the Fundación Canguro, an organisation dedicated to promoting KMC for preterm and low birth weight infants worldwide. She is also a co-creator of the International Kangaroo Network (IKN), an alliance devoted to collaborating, enhancing and disseminating the KMC Method.

Diane K. E. Schultz

Diane Schultz, a registered nurse and Certified Kangaroo Caregiver (CKC), has worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for more than 33 years. Diane teaches Kangaroo Care (KC) to all levels in the NICU as well as within the Labour and Delivery Department and is a co-creator of “What to do when it’s time to Kangaroo”, an internationally shared educational video on safe transfer techniques of fragile infants. Furthermore, she is the co-chair of the Family Integrated Care Committee and a member of the Advisory Board as well as a member of the End of Life, Patient Care, and Cultural Safety Committee.

We warmly thank the following parent and patient organisations, as well as national and international NGOs, healthcare- and research societies for supporting World Prematurity Day 2022!

All supporting organisations are listed in the following table:

Supporters of  World Prematurity Day 2022

Patient – and parent organisations (in alphabetic order)

Collaborating international NGOs, medical and research societies

Collaborating national medical and research societies 

Research project partners 

Special thanks 

Moreover, we would like to thank our Platinum, Premium, Premium Project, and Silver Partners AstraZeneca, GE Healthcare, Baxter, Janssen, Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Prolacta Bioscience, Sanofi, Chiesi, DSM, and Philips for supporting the creation of the EFCNI World Prematurity Day material.