The SMA know-how maternity & infant Awards 2012 were held today at the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. The Awards celebrate inspiring individuals who have touched the lives of those around them, and recognise the leading maternity products and services as voted for by the public.  

Once again the awards were hosted by Sybil Mulcahy and Martin King from TV3’s Morning Show, and the day was filled with drama, emotion and fun. With 17 Product Award categories, the public are able to reward the products and services that have helped make family life that little bit easier, greener, and more fun. This year, the winners included Dublin Zoo for Best Family Day Out sponsored by Hamley’s, with Organix winning Best Eco-Friendly Product, and SMA Nutrition scooping the award for Best Baby/Infant Food.

The People Awards contains 10 categories and the public were asked to nominate family members that have overcome adversity or health service professionals who have gone beyond the call of duty to care for their patients.  

Each year truly heartfelt nominations are received in the People Award categories, and this year was no different. Amongst these was the winner of the Child Hero Award, 8 year old Seán Byrne, from Kill, Co. Kildare. Nominated by his mother, Catherine, Seán was born with severe limb abnormalities, but his parents made the difficult decision not to amputate. In order to lengthen his right leg and allow him to eventually walk unaided, Seán requires five extensive surgeries between the ages of 2 and 16, and currently relies on a fixator – a device that is used to keep bones aligned and immobile. The fixator extends from Seán’s hip to his ankle, and screws have to be turned four times a day to encourage the femur to grow. Despite his youth, Seán faced this prospect with unwavering bravery, and even manages to turn the screws himself. Although he currently has an 11cm difference between his right and left leg, Seán remains an active child who loves karate and swimming.   

The Baby Story of the Year sponsored by Sudocrem winner was 10 month old Hailey Rose Mac Neice, from Malahide. Hailey was born with an undiagnosed diaphragmatic hernia, leaving her lungs underdeveloped and her heart on the wrong side of her body. It is estimated that this rare condition affects 1 out of every 2,200 to 5,000 live births, and at only two days old Hailey Rose underwent life saving surgery at Temple St. Hospital. Thankfully, Hailey Rose has made a full recovery and she is now a healthy ten month old baby.  

Other winners at today’s event included Grandparent of the Year sponsored by the Irish Daily Mail winner Nora Fahy from Rahoon, Galway. Nora stood by her daughter, Jennifer, through extreme loss and hardship, and without her mother’s care and support Jennifer would have been unable to fulfill her dream of having a family of her own. Jennifer’s three children, Adam, Ailish and Ailbhe, are a testament to the love and dedication Nora has shown her family.  

This year’s Business Parent of the Year Award sponsored by Fuzion Communications was presented to Ollwyn Moran, Templeogue, whose company Creeper Crawlers produces a suit designed to help babies to crawl, aiding their mental development. [For the full list of winners see below]  Mr. Alan Downey, General Manager, Pfizer nutrition Ireland commented, “We at SMA Nutrition, a division of Pfizer in Ireland, are delighted to be the headline sponsor of this year’s SMA know-how Maternity and Infant Awards.

These awards recognise the incredible achievements of parents and grandparents as well as all those health care professionals associated with infant delivery and well being in Ireland. This recognition of unsung heroes is something we are proud to support”.  “SMA Nutrition has a long established history in Ireland – our state of the art manufacturing facility in Askeaton, Co.Limerick – employs over 650 people and exports to 61 countries worldwide.  We are especially proud that we ourselves at SMA Nutrition have been voted by the mums and dads of Ireland as winners in two separate categories this year.”  

The 2012 maternity & infant awards will be aired on TV3 on Monday 10th December at 3:30pm, for more information visit www.maternityandinfant.ie.