Pampers Bright Beginnings Brings the Joy of Reading to NICUs Through a New Program with March of Dimes

More than 380,000 babies—1 in 10—are born preterm in the U.S.ⁱ and many of these littlest fighters require extra help from the start. In honor of World Prematurity Day, Pampers is partnering with March of Dimes to bring 40,000 books and educational resources to NICUs across the country, as part of its ongoing commitment to care for the happy, healthy development of every baby.

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As a continuation of the Pampers Bright Beginnings Reading initiative announced last month, Pampers will provide more than 65 March of Dimes NICU Family Support programs with books and helpful reading tips to bring awareness of the developmental benefits of reading to babies from the very beginning. Through their longstanding partnership, Pampers and March of Dimes will work together to reach more than 35,000 families annually.

"March of Dimes NICU Family Support is thrilled to be partnering with Pampers Bright Beginnings to bring the joy of reading into NICUs across the nation," said Heather Reimer, Senior Director, NICU Initiatives, March of Dimes. "We know how vital early reading is for our littlest fighters, so being able to provide NICU babies and their families with a way to help create moment of bonding and development is such a privilege. We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with Pampers and making a difference in the lives of thousands of families together."

Studies show that infants admitted to the NICU are at an increased risk for neurodevelopmental deficits due to prematurity or illness, poor language exposure as well as impaired parent-infant bonding. Reading aloud to babies, beginning from birth, can mitigate this issue. Dr. Viral G Jain, MD, FAAP, a physician-scientist, neonatologist and Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a member of Pampers’ Bright Beginnings Advisory Council, recently conducted a large-scale studyⁱⁱ to support this notion. He found that when parents were shown by a healthcare professional how to read with their baby, it doubled the number of parents reading to their babies while in the NICU. Benefits were especially strong among parents who did not themselves enjoy reading aloud, who are at high risk for lower reading frequency and quality, and in turn lower language exposure. These parents were five times more likely to read in the NICU and three times more likely to continue reading aloud at home. These improvements in reading behaviors were likely mediated by reduced parental stress, enhanced bonding between parent and baby and positive parent-infant interactions.