North Shore Donates More Than 9K Diapers, 80K Wipes In April Drive

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A collaborative health department campaign across the North Shore in April collected more than 9,000 diapers and more than 80,000 wipes for parents of young children in need.

The regional campaign included Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Hamilton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Saugus and Wenham.

The Swampscott Health Department said in that town alone there were 682 diapers collected along with nine packages of wipes.

The drive collected new and opened packages of diapers from newborns to Size 6 as well as baby wipes.

The diaper drive was in coordination with National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

"Women with diaper need also reported more difficulty with stress management, depression and coping with trauma," said the National Diaper Bank Network, "which can negatively affect a child's development. Increased stress and depression can, in turn, increase the chance of stress and abuse."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)