Altogether 693 pregnant women and parents of young children in Shumen region received support by nurses and midwives from the Center for Maternal and Child Health, funded by donations raised within the strategic partnership between Postbank and UNICEF "Best Start for Every Child."
In December and January visiting nurses from the Center made 1,137 home visits in the area. Some of the families have been visited more than three times due to their specific needs and the difficulties experienced in raising their children. A total of 113 consultations were carried out by phone, directions were given about problems with breastfeeding, introducing of first solid food and baby fussiness.
One of the most important advantages of home visits provided by nurses and midwives is the individual approach to each family. Special attention is paid to people from vulnerable groups – single mothers, families and pregnant women living in extreme poverty, parents with low education or disabled people. In December and January support from the Center received 74 families from vulnerable groups.
"When I go in the poorest neighborhoods or villages, I see that people are neglected. They do not have access to any doctor or to social services. During our first meetings mothers usually have a lot of expectations from me – because I'm the only person who shows personal attention to them since a very long time. I always ask them how they feel, what they do. Nobody asks them such questions. Trust is very important in my work." says nurse Nurten who has been working for the Center for Maternal and Child Health in Novi Pazar from the very beginning.
Free home visits by nurses and midwives from the Center for Maternal and Child Health will soon be offered to pregnant women and parents with young children from Sliven. By the end of June the second Center for Maternal and Child Health in Bulgaria will open in the city with UNICEF support.
The funds collected within the campaign “Best Start for Every Child" so far amounted to BGN 152,000 and donations were received from across the country. To ensure full transparency of donations Postbank installed on its media center website (http://mediacenter.postbank.bg/) a special counter showing in real time the actual amount of money collected.
Developing a network of Maternal and Child Health Care Centers is a short-term goal of the strategic partnership between Postbank and UNICEF Bulgaria. The long-term goal of the partnership "Best Start for Every Child" is good practices to be implemented at a national level in order to support more parents of young children in Bulgaria
For more information:
Corporate Communications Department, Postbank
Tel. + 359 2 8166 178, 8166 508, 8166 101, e-mail: pr@postbank.bg, web: http://mediacenter.postbank.bg/
Jacklin Tzocheva, Communications Officer, UNICEF Bulgaria
Tel: +359 2 9696208, е-mail: jtzocheva@unicef.org
About Postbank:
Postbank, legally known as Eurobank Bulgaria, is a member of Eurobank Group.
Eurobank is a European banking organization with total assets of € 80.1 bn (September 30, 2013), more than 20,000 employees and a network of more than 1,100 branches.
Eurobank Group has a strategic position in the Greek banking system, while at the same time it holds a systemic role in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, offers Wealth Management services in Cyprus, Luxembourg, and is also present in London and the Ukraine.
More information about Postbank can be found at www.postbank.bg and at www.facebook.com/PostbankBG.
More information about Eurobank can be found at www.eurobank.gr
About UNICEF:
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
