Voting and nominations for Ireland’s premier pregnancy and parenting awards event opened this week.

Now in their 5th consecutive year, the SMA know-how maternity & infant Awards 2012 commend the best in products and services available for mothers and infants throughout Ireland. The awards also honour inspirational people who merit recognition for their acts of strength and bravery through tough times.

This is achieved by giving the public the opportunity to have their say and nominate in the various product and people award categories through the event website at www.maternityandinfant.ie/awards and through the award’s innovative Facebook app.

This year there are 16 product and service awards, ranging from Best Feeding Product and Best Baby Skincare to Best Family Supermarket and Best Family Website. New to the 2012 Awards, the Best Maternity App category will recognise the best apps available for pregnant women.

In addition to the Product Awards, there are 13 People Award categories which will honour exceptional mums, dads, business parents, grandparents and child heroes. The people awards will also recognise members of the medical profession who go the extra mile in caring for their patients.

Parents will also have the opportunity to recognise crèches with excellent standards and best practises through our three crèche categories; Community Crèche of the Year, Private Crèche of the Year and Best Crèche-Multiple Provider.

Last year’s event recorded over 9,000 votes and nominations from people throughout the country. Inspirational winners included eight year old Claudia Scanlon, 2011 Child Hero of the Year, who was honoured for her bravery in coping with the debilitating condition Epidermolysis Bullosa, or Butterfly Syndrome, meaning that she has no collagen in her skin. Claudia’s outstanding strength in coping with this extremely painful and dangerous condition all of her young life was deeply inspiring for the judges. Additional winners included Shauna McCarney from Tyrone, the Business Parent of the Year winner for her success in establishing ‘Heavenly Tasty Organics’, a healthy range of organic baby food products. Event Director, Tracey Carney, highlights the importance of recognising inspirational individuals within our community and helping parents find the right products for their family.

“The Awards are a unique opportunity for friends, colleagues and family members to recognise those who have helped and inspired them in their daily lives. Look around you, there are people who go the extra mile in all walks of life. Mothers, who against all odds stay positive and attentive, midwives whose dedication has saved both mother and baby, children who have shown strength and courage beyond their years – we want to hear your story and celebrate the Unsung Heroes of Ireland”.Philip McCabe, Marketing Manager of Pfizer Nutrition said “SMA know-how is proud to support the 2012 SMA know-how maternity and infant awards as they not only highlight the great brands available for Mums but they also honour the unsung heroes throughout Irish society. Given how tough things are at the moment, it’s nice for something so positive to take place on an annual basis.

The SMA know-how maternity and infant awards are a wonderful way of guiding mums towards the best products for their babies and we are proud to be recognised as a brand trusted by Irish mums for providing the best nutrition for their children”.

The SMA know-how maternity & infant Awards 2012 will take place on November 16th, 2012 at the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, where Martin King and Sybil Mulcahy will once again host the event. A number of celebrity guests will also be in attendance, and the awards will be televised on TV3 for the third year running.

Voting and nominations for this year’s SMA know-how maternity & infant Awards is open from today until September 14th, after which the finalists will be announced. Voting and nominating is quick and easy through the website at www.maternityandinfant.ie or via the Facebook app at www.facebook.com/maternityandinfant.

For the most up to date information follow the awards on Twitter @maternityinfant.