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March of Dimes and Gerber Join Forces on Wellness Fairs
Bilingual Fairs Provide Valuable Information Directly to Parents and Expectant Moms
(WHITE PLAINS, NY – JUNE 2004) – The March of Dimes and Gerber Products Company are working together to present a traveling health fair uniquely designed to provide valuable health and wellness information in both English and Spanish for parents with young children and for expectant moms. The program, called “The Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ Tour,” features a mobile educational unit that will visit 121 Wal-Mart Supercenters throughout Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California. The tour kicked off in Arkansas last month and will conclude this October in California. A health professional will be available on-site to answer general questions about nutrition in both English and Spanish.
The tour offers important baby wellness and nutrition information and features interactive stations covering topics of importance to new mothers such as baby bath safety, breastfeeding, and nutrition. Information on state and local health resources will also be provided. All information will be available in both English and Spanish.
Bilingual take-home brochures containing health tips for pregnant women, the stages of baby growth and development, and information on preventing birth defects and infant mortality will be provided on-site by the March of Dimes. Topics include healthy nutrition, baby wellness, local health resources, and prenatal and post-natal care information.
"We are proud to partner with Gerber on the ‘Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™’ Tour to help meet the needs of moms who are looking for information to help them raise healthy babies,” says Beverly Robertson, national director, Pregnancy and Newborn Health Education Center, March of Dimes. “By offering information in Spanish and English, we hope to encourage moms to attend the event and take advantage of the resources that March of Dimes and Gerber have made available together.”
“Gerber is proud to have initiated the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ research and education campaign to help parents and professionals better understand how to instill healthy eating habits early in their babies,” says Kathleen Reidy, Dr.P.H., R.D., director of nutritional sciences, Gerber Products Company. “Research shows that lifelong eating habits and tastes are learned early. Together with the March of Dimes, we hope to bring this valuable nutrition information to moms to help them raise happy, healthy babies right from the start.”
About March of Dimes:
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies, and in 2003, launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information visit the March of Dimes website at marchofdimes.com or in Spanish at www.nacersano.org.
About Gerber:
Gerber Products Company is part of the Infant & Baby business unit within the Consumer Health Division of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS), a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2003, the Group’s businesses achieved sales of USD 24.9 billion and a net income of USD 5.0 billion. The Group invested approximately USD 3.8 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 78,500 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world. For further information please consult http://www.novartis.com.
For more information about Gerber products, please contact Gerber’s Parents Resource Center at 1-800-4-GERBER or visit www.gerber.com.
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