Spend £10 today to help stop premature births (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Spend £10 today to help stop premature births

7:49am Saturday 17th March 2007 in Chippenham By Raeanne Nightingale

Shoppers should head down to New Look in Chippenham to stock up on a charity t-shirt aiming to cut the number of premature babies who die in the UK each year.

Penny Lancaster and Atomic Kitten Jenny Frost are just two of a wealth of celebrities backing baby charity Tommy's new Stop Premature Births campaign.

Tommy's t-shirt are available in New Look for £10 throughout March along with pin badges for £1. The charity hopes to make £5 million over the next five years to fund research into the causes of prematurity.

Jane Brewin, chief executive of Tommy 's, said: "These figures will undoubtedly be distressing to many people - especially to those who are caring for or have lost a premature baby, and similarly to those parents bereaved by other causes of their baby's death.

"Tommy's believes no parent should have to face these agonising situations. The fact of the matter is that premature birth is the biggest cause of baby deaths and it is something we can very much try and put a stop to, which is why Tommy's is so committed to doing just that."

Donations will fund a range of research projects including those on pre-eclampsia (a potentially fatal pregnancy complication); on whether hormone-like substances can be used to stop genes activating early labour and on identifying women who are at risk of premature labour by using new technology."

The Duchess of York is patron of the charity and many celebrities are backing the campaign, including Amanda Holden, Andrea Catherwood, Anthea Turner, Jamelia, Kim Wilde, Kym Marsh, Natasha Hamilton, Nell McAndrew, Richard E Grant, Ryan Giggs and Sammy Winward.

Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, said: "Premature birth is on the rise in the UK and over 50,000 babies are born prematurely each year in this country, putting thousands of tiny lives at risk.

"More work is urgently required to understand why premature birth happens and how it can be prevented. Tommy'>s has made great progress in this field, but there is still so much more we need to learn."

Popstar and mum of two, Jamelia, added: "Looking at my two beautiful girls, I can 't bear to imagine what life without them would be like.

"But that's a reality far too many parents face every single day in this country when their precious baby is born prematurely.

"This is overwhelmingly sad, especially as prematurity is something we can help to prevent; we must find out why so many babies are being born too soon, so that we can put an end to this.

"I'm urging people to simply donate a pound and wear a pin badge supporting Tommy>'s Stop Premature Births campaign. Without your support, even more babies will have their lives snatched away from them."

FACT FILE

• Four babies die every day in the UK due to being born prematurely.

• Most recent statistics show that premature birth kills more babies than any other cause, including cot death, congenital anomalies and infections in the UK alone.

• The figures for baby deaths in the UK in 2005 revealed premature birth was the number one cause of infant death - the actual number stood at 1,311, compared to 933 for congenital anomalies, 350 for infections and 241 for cot death.

HOW CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED?

• Spend a pound to pick up a Stop Premature Births pin badge from New Look and watch out for other merchandise in stores.

• Buy a fun children's zip pull from selected Boots stores (clothing stockists' outlets only).

• Open a Jump Savings fund for children. Jump will give a £5 donation to Tommy '>s for every account opened - visit www.jumpsavings.com
• Recycle your home or work ink cartridges through Environmental Business Products. Call 0800 435 576 for freepost recycling bags, which will be supplied free of charge.

• Visit www.tommys.org for more details about the campaign or donate by calling 0870 777 76 76.