Early Childhood Centre: help for families with premature babies

The main priority of projects of the 2014-2020 programming period is to promote the economic and social cohesion and the competitiveness of the country, to which the Human Resources Development Operational Program (HRDOP) could contribute, among other things, by improving the social environment and health care.

The Korábban érkeztem (I have arrived early) Regional Premature Intensive Care Unit Foundation of Southern Great Plain has established its Premature Centres in Szeged, Kecskemét and Gyula with EU support. The centres offer a wide range of services free of charge to families with premature babies. These services support the motoric, speech, emotional and intellectual development of children born prematurely, as well as helping parents in this difficult situation.

Around eight per cent of babies born in Hungary are premature, before 37 weeks. These premature heroes and their parents are helped by the three Premature Centres, where health care professionals work to make sure that the families concerned do not feel alone. The project also aim to ensure that parents receive appropriate mentoring support. The project also has a training element in the framework of which, peers share their experience, which indirectly helps the integration and psychosocial development of premature babies.

The EU grant gave a significant boost to the complex support service of the Korábban érkeztem Regional Premature Intensive Care Unit Foundation of Southern Great Plain, which enabled the establishment of mentor houses in Szeged, Kecskemét and Gyula, and the creation of a mentor network, making the service available in all institutions in the Southern Great Plain. The aim of the project was to help parents of premature babies as well as to focus on prevention. One of the Mentor Houses’ priority programmes is to support pregnant women at risk, with the aim of preventing premature birth.

Watch a short film about the project: