Preterm Children’s lives are to be improved by new standards of child care advised by Warwick Academic.

Guidelines on how to care for pre-term and ill babies are being launched in Brussels on the 28^th November
Professor Dieter Wolke has chaired the set of standards for European Standards of Care for Newborn Health once pre-term children have been discharged from hospital
Assessments of development both physically and cognitively for the baby and of mental health of the parents are essential to enhance the quality of life says Professor Dieter Wolke from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick

European Standards of Care for New-born Health are being launched at the European Parliament in Brussels on the 28^th November. The University of Warwick’s Department of Psychology’s Professor Dieter Wolke will be there as he chaired the set of standards for pre-term babies when they’ve been discharged from Hospital – he stresses they are key to reducing morbidity rates and quality of life for families.

The University of Warwick’s Professor Dieter Wolke from the Department of Psychology will be in Brussels on the 28^th November to help launch the European Standards of Care for Newborn Health, in which he chaired the panel setting standards for care of preterm babies once they’ve left Hospital.

In the report of new standards implemented by the EFCNI (European Foundation for the Care of New-born Infants) standard schedules and assessments at 2 years and at the time of transition to school in behaviour, speech, IQ are essential to ensure appropriate intervention and management of preterm children to guarantee best possible health and quality of life

Parents also play a key role in the development of preterm children, and need to have their relationships with the child supported, as well as their mental health.

These standards will be launched in Brussels, are endorsed by many organisations and proposed for rollout in the EU countries and possibly the world.

Currently in the EU and beyond preterm birth (before the 37^th week of pregnancy) and birth complications are the leading causes of death in children under the age of five. Globally 2.6 million children died in the first month of life in 2016.

Professor Dieter Wolke from the University of Warwick comments:

“We are very pleased that after more than 3 years of intensive work 13 evidence based standards on the timing and content of follow-up care are now available. Their implementation of these standards Europe wide will help to reduce further morbidity and help increase the quality of life for preterm children and their families.”

Silke Mader, Chairwoman and Co-Founder of EFCNI comments:

“As a mother personally experienced with the challenges of preterm birth, I know that a strong partnership between healthcare professionals and parents is the best way to face the emotional rollercoaster of having a preterm or ill baby and to overcome the obstacles.

The European Standards of Care for Newborn Health equally consider the voice of parents and healthcare professionals. They stand for a new mind set in new-born health and I can hardly wait to put the standards into practice together with our stakeholders.

I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to this milestone project and who supports the implementation of the standards over the forthcoming years.”

The hosts MEP Professor Dr Angelika Niebler and MEP Dr Peter Liese from the European Parliamentary Interest Group on Maternal and Neonatal Health comment:

“In the long run, the health of newborn babies concerns us all. For us as European politicians, it is not only a great honour, but also a moral obligation to support the implantation of the European Standards of Care for Newborn Health presented today at the European Parliament.

They will set the course for Europe’s next generations. Putting the most vulnerable patients in the centre of care and respecting the rights of newborns wherever they are born, the standards will help reduce the health inequalities in Europe and beyond. We fully commit to the standards of their mission: possible.”

ENDS

28 NOVEMBER 2018

NOTES TO EDITORS

Pictures of the event will follow; the use of the images is free of charge when citing the copyright.

High res image available: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/baby_efcni.jpg
Copyright: EFCNI/Foto Video Sessner GmbH

About the project:

The European Standards of Newborn Health project is an interdisciplinary collaboration to develop standards of care for key topics in newborn health. The standards and the Call to Action are supported by 108 healthcare professional societies and 50 parent organisations.

In 2017, the project was awarded one of the most innovative Landmarks 2017 by the initiative Germany – Land of Ideas. The project was made possible thanks to the voluntary contribution and commitment of the project members and the financial support by the project industry partners AbbVie, Baxter, Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Philips AVENT, Philips and Shire. Thanks to Drager for supporting the project form 2013 till 2015.

About EFCNI:

The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) is the first pan-European organisation and network to represent the interests of preterm and newborn infants and their families. It brings together parents, healthcare experts from different disciplines, and scientists with the common goal of improving long-term health of preterm and newborn children. EFCNI’s vision is to ensure that the best start in life for every baby. EFCNI receives funding from its corporate partners AbbVie, Baxter, Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Novatris, Philips AVENT, Shire, DSM and Natus as well as from the other private companies and individual donors. In addition, the foundation receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

For more information please visit: https://www.efcni.org

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Alice Scott

Media Relations Manager – Science

University of Warwick

Tel: 02476 574 255 or 07920 531 221

E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk