In honor of Diaper Need Awareness Week in late September, Healthy Mom&Baby magazine, with support from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Kimberly-Clark, and the National Diaper Bank Network, embarked on the Wipe Out Diaper Need campaign with a goal of collecting 100,000 diapers for families in need.
Many people aren't aware that one out of every three families in the United States struggle to provide enough clean diapers for their children. As a nurse, I witnessed first-hand children being admitted to the hospital for serious infections and severe rashes due to a lack of clean diapers. I've also seen parents who couldn't afford diapers reuse old ones or keep soiled diapers on a child for too long. As heartbreaking as this is for anyone to witness, the nurses of AWHONN knew that they could do something to help these families.
Since the campaign kicked off, the nation's generosity has helped us collect an astounding 112,658 diapers! The Huggies® Brand generously matched all of the donations, helping us to far exceed our goal and donate more than 225,000 diapers to diaper banks associated with the National Diaper Bank Network.
The costs associated with diapering a child are an expense that many families cannot afford. On average, infants and toddlers require between 8 to 12 diapers a day, at a cost of $70 to $80 per month, per child. Parents may have to make difficult choices between diapers and other necessities like food, utilities, shelter, or clothing. Diaper need doesn't just affect a child's health; it affects the overall wellbeing of the entire family.
On behalf of the nurses of AWHONN, I personally want to thank our partners and everyone who joined us to Wipe Out Diaper Need. We are extremely grateful to those who donated money for diapers, organized donation drives, posted on social media, and encouraged their friends and family to donate. By helping raise awareness of this issue, AWHONN nurses and supporters are helping the 5.3 million children (or about half of the U.S. population ages 0 to 3 years) that are affected by diaper need nationwide. Clearly, there is still a lot left to be done.
The fight to Wipe Out Diaper Need doesn't end here. I encourage you to drop off diapers at a local diaper bank. To find a location closest to you, visit www.diaperdrive.org; then, come back to our website to tell us where you donated.
In the months to come and in the new year, AWHONN nurses will be continuing to work with their local diaper banks to help families in need. With your help, we can work to Wipe Out Diaper Need once and for all!