Huggies has launched its Nursing Advisory Council to offer ongoing guidance to nurses and information on helping protect newborns' fragile skin. Together with the Huggies brand, the council will identify opportunities to provide resources that recognize nurses' contributions and help them perform their best – for babies, families and communities.

"Huggies shares a passion with neonatal and perinatal nurses to help babies thrive," says Aric Melzl, director, Huggies Brand, Kimberly-Clark. "As a committed partner to nurses, our collaboration with this esteemed group of experts will enable us to uncover insights and deliver solutions that advance newborn care while also supporting nurses in their role."

The advisory council is comprised of seven experts from the U.S. and Canada that touch various aspects of nursing and newborn care including hospital administrators, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, a neonatal occupational therapist and a neonatal patient advocate.

Members of the Huggies Nursing Advisory Council are:

Sharon Dore, RN, BScN, M Ed, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada

Media Esser, NNP-BC, APNP, PhD, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Felicia Fitzgerald, BSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, Perinatal Outreach Educator, Chicago, Illinois

Kelli Kelley, Founder & Executive Director, Hand to Hold

Joanne Kuller, RN, MS, Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital

Sue Ludwig, OTR/L, Founder & President, National Association of Neonatal Therapists

Debianne Peterman, PhD, MSN, RNC-NIC, NE-BC, Assistant Vice President, Women's and Obstetrics Services, Hospital Corporation of America

The broad expertise of the council will inform resources and support for perinatal and neonatal nurses, who play a critical role in diapering and care for newborn skin health. Of all healthcare professionals, nurses spend the most time with a new baby, often changing a newborn's diaper between 10 and 12 times a day. While routine, this time with a newborn impacts the baby's skin health and developmental growth in significant ways. Nurses can also influence baby's health by educating parents about diaper dermatitis, one of the most common skin disorders of infancy, which results in about one million outpatient visits in the United States each year.

The Huggies Nursing Advisory Council extends the brand's long-standing commitment to partner with healthcare professionals. Huggies product designs reflect insights from nurses' real-world experiences, including the only specialized neonatal intensive care unit wipes created for premature babies and tailored for their especially delicate skin. In addition, Kimberly-Clark's Skin Science research group and Huggies brand have invested significantly in research over the past 25 years to better understand infant skin and provide healthcare professionals with new insights on skin care that can lead to better outcomes. Recent research papers have examined pre-mature infant skin physiology and cleansing, and the causes, mitigation and treatment of diaper dermatitis.