SAVE A BABY'S LIFE: BUY A BOX OF PAMPERS (PLUS: GET $50 WORTH OF PAMPERS ON MYBROWNBABY)

My daughters think their pediatrician, Dr. Roberts, rocks. It’s the nurses, with their finger prickers and their blood-sucking tubes and their needles full of mysterious liquids, that they don’t care for. Indeed, news of a trip to see Dr. Roberts inevitably is met with a fist pump and a “yes!” and then quickly followed up with, “do we have to get shots?” Last year’s visit was a mess; Mari cried the moment the first of the three needles she needed last year hit her thigh; Lila took off running down the hallway and hid under the desk in the nurses station, only to be dragged off by her mother kicking and screaming and crying to her doom four needles were waiting for her back in Exam Room 3.

Not exactly our idea of a good time.

But I thank God every day for my children’s health, and for our ability to afford our overpriced insurance (even if it works more like a discount healthcare coupon rather than the kind of health insurance we used to get working for The Man), and for the resources we have at our disposal to make sure that my babies get the best chance at leading healthy lives. They don’t realize how blessed they are.

And that so many little lives exactly like theirs are lost because their mothers can’t afford or don’t have access to something as simple as the few ounces of liquid and a needle that could help them see many more days.

That’s why MyBrownBaby is teaming with Pampers to help promote its “One Pack=One Vaccine Campaign, a global initiative with UNICEF to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT), a preventable disease that claims the lives of approximately 128,000 infants and 30,000 mothers in less industrialized nations each year approximately one death every four minutes.

Tetanus can be contracted during childbirth in developing countries, where women often must give birth at home in unsanitary conditions without access to adequate health care. The disease rages through newborns within days of their exposure to the tetanus bacteria and almost always leads to a swift and painful death.

And this fatal disease can be eliminated with a simple vaccine.

But YOU can help save a baby’s life: By simply purchasing something you’d buy anyway diapers and wipes you can help wipe out tetanus. From now through May 1, 2009, buy the specially-marked “One Pack=One Vaccine Campaign packages of Pampers or wipes, and Pampers will donate money to UNICEF to help provide one tetanus vaccine to a pregnant woman or a woman of child-bearing age in the less industrialized world. These specially marked packages of diapers and wipes cost the same as traditional products and are available wherever Pampers products are sold. For more information, click HERE

In addition to Pampers, parents can also redeem this special campaign baby body suit using “Gifts to Grow” points though Pampers.com; each baby body suit triggers a life-saving vaccine. To purchase one, click HERE.

Pamper’s 2008 North America campaign provided funding to UNICEF for over 50 million tetanus vaccines to help protect moms and their newborn babies against tetanus. This year, Pampers aims to raise funds for another 30 million vaccines; it hopes to provide more than 200 million life-saving tetanus vaccines over the next three years.

Of course, MyBrownBaby has a little incentive for its faithful followers; add your name to the roster of moms supporting Pampers’ efforts (it’s easy enough just click on the widget below and add your name) AND leave a comment below, and your name will be placed in a random drawing for $50 IN PAMPERS COUPONS and the special baby body suit. Earn extra entries by becoming a MyBrownBaby follower, an email subscriber, faving MyBrownBaby on technorati, or rating MyBrownBaby on Top Sista Sites.

Please be sure to leave your email addy so that I can contact you if you win. A winner will be chosen randomly on March 31.