World Prematurity Day: Vygon celebrates 10 years of commitment
Since 2015, Vygon is committed to celebrate the tiniest and toughest fighters.
Since 2015, Vygon is committed to celebrate the tiniest and toughest fighters.
- What is the World Prematurity Day ?
The World Prematurity Day – on November 17th – is the occasion to raise awareness on neonatology, and encourage to improve the treatment and care of all premature babies on an international scale. The aim is to give preemies equal survival chances worldwide without avoidable long-term complications.
- What is the history of the World Prematurity Day?
It all started in 1997, when Silke Mader was expecting twins. They were delivered prematurely at 25 weeks of pregnancy, one passed away after one week and the other one is now a growing healthy teenager. This challenging experience taught Silke Mader that there were location-related gaps in premature babies care.
In 2008, she cofounded the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI). She joined forces with PD Dr Matthias Keller, neonatologist, Thomas Föringer, lawyer and Jürgen Popp, father who lost his premature triplets. Since then, their purpose has been to meaningfully improve the care and situation of preterm babies and their families on an European level.
To enhance their impact, they created, in 2009, the International Prematurity Awareness Day which was renamed a couple of years later, World Prematurity Day.
- What is Vygon’s place in this event ?
Because we value life, Vygon has dedicated a whole activity to neonatology for more than 40 years, in order to invent engineered single-use medical devices in collaboration with neonatologists. Our objective is to help healthcare professionals to give optimal care to each premature infant worldwide.
That’s why we fully support the World Prematurity Day.
Since 2015, November 17th has been an important date for Vygon and we have celebrated it worldwide. In 2019, 54 countries joined Vygon in the celebration.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Vygon’s commitment to World Prematurity Day, a decade of raising awareness and giving the best care to preemies. Through our teams spread across the globe, recent years symbolize our commitment to the wellbeing of premature babies. These are values that drive us every day.
What did Vygon organize for the 2025 edition ?
In 2025, Vygon proudly celebrates 10 years of commitment to World Prematurity Day. This anniversary edition is more than just a date, it’s a celebration of a decade of awareness, collaboration, and dedication to neonatal care. Our teams and affiliates around the world are invited to join this special moment, marked by meaningful actions, festive initiatives, and renewed engagement to support premature infants and the healthcare professionals who care for them.
To mark this special edition, we organized several initiatives across our teams:
- Distribution of WPD t-shirts and posters to celebrate this meaningful event.
- Fun and educational activities that allowed our employees to enjoy themselves while deepening their understanding of prematurity.
These moments were an opportunity to strengthen collective awareness of the tangible impact of our work and our products, which help support the earliest days of life for the tiniest patients.
We also wanted to look back on 10 years of commitment around the world by creating a retrospective video, highlighting key moments from previous editions. This film shines a light on our shared mission and our ongoing dedication to improving care for the most vulnerable newborns.
As part of a broader awareness campaign, we conducted street interviews to gather public knowledge and perceptions about prematurity. These spontaneous testimonials helped us better understand how this topic is viewed by the general public.
Finally, we highlighted five flagship products from our range, specially designed to meet the unique needs of premature infants.
And that’s not all, many more events are being held around the world to celebrate this day and continue advancing the cause of prematurity!
How did Vygon contribute to the WPD in 2025?
In 2025, more than 30 countries joined us in the celebration.
Many events were organised: cake ceremonies, children’s activities, walks, illuminations on buildings, donations, festive events in NICUs, etc.
Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Danmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Panamá, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, République Tchèque, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Vietnam...
The tiniest patients' journey #1 - NIDCAP: a nest for our little heroes
The first episode of our prematurity sage.
We will bring you in the heart of a neonatal unit, at the Hospital Center of Valenciennes, where every second matters. Dig in the NIDCAP philosophy and discover how it allows to create warm and comforting nests for our little heroes. This philosophy aims to point out that individualized care is essential for every premature infant.
Thank you to the talented caregivers, as well as the parents and the preemies who gave us the opportunity to enter into their little world for one day.
The tiniest patients’ journey #2 – Small feet, Big needs
Our little heroes need continuous and adapted care.
Their lives depend on the hard-work and support of their parents and caregivers.
We met a dedicated nurse, Karine, who took the time to explain how important it is for the medical devices to be carefully designed considering the tiny little patient that will receive the medications.
The tiniest patients’ journey #3 – Wonder mums: nurturing the well-being of their premature newborns
The caregiver's team is multi-disciplinary.
In this episode, we will focuse on an important actor in the neonatal unit : Isabelle, the lactation consultant. She is in charge of advising the parents and spreads her knowledge about how breastfeeding brings a lot more benefits for the premature newborns. Her role is essential and she keeps a privileged confident relationship with the mothers, to help them do what is best for their babies.
Every day, the nurses help Isabelle to prepare the milk, so that it can be safely given to the hospitalized infants.
The tiniest patient’s journey #4 – A contact that heals
Sometimes, premature twins are separated at birth because one them may need intensive care.
The Hospital of Valenciennes aims to provide double-bedded rooms, as many as possible, which allows families to find more comfort and intimacy during this difficult time.
Older brothers and sisters are welcomed and encouraged to visit their younger sibling in the neonatal unit, to show their support!
*Produced in association with SOS Préma & the Hospital Center Valenciennes.*
