EFCNI is the first pan-European organisation to represent the interests of preterm infants, ill newborns and their families. It gathers together parents, healthcare experts from various disciplines, scientists, politicians and other stakeholders, with the common goal of improving the short- and long-term health of preterm and newborn children. Our vision is to ensure the best start in life for every baby.
To achieve our aims, we combine the strengths of all those involved in pregnancy, childbirth and child health, focusing on the following three areas:
Preconception and Maternal Care
We want to ensure widely accessible pregnancy information and the provision of effective, equitable high-quality care for all women of reproductive age.
Treatment and Care
We aim at continuously improving treatment and care for all preterm babies and ill newborns as well as support for their families.
Continuing Care
We seek to improve the long-term health of preterm infants and ill newborns. This also includes the provision of medical, psychological, socio-pedagogical and financial support for these children and their families.
What we do
EFCNI advocates for preterm infants, ill newborns and their families. Our work is dedicated to improving the situation of pregnant women and newborn infants in Europe across the full spectrum of care, promoting and protecting the right to the best start in life. Our work is based on the following three pillars:
Establishing a Powerful Network
We combine the forces of all stakeholders involved and foster collaboration to achieve our common vision by:
- Partnering with parents, healthcare professionals, scientists and their respective societies as well as with policy-makers, international non-profit and private sector organisations, UN agencies
- Empowering national parent organisations
Best Practice Sharing to Implement High Quality Treatment and Care
We gather and multiply information to improve the quality of care by:
- Coordinating an interdisciplinary project for the development of harmonised European Standards of Care for Newborn Health
- Providing easy-to-understand and widely accessible information for families and all those interested
- Promoting research and providing research support from the patient‘s perspective
Raising Awareness
We call attention to the growing challenge of preterm birth and its significant impact on the children, families and our societies by:
- Running campaigns and (social) media work
- Constructive dialogue with political decision-makers and opinion-leaders
- Making the patient’s voice heard in the professional healthcare setting
