Prematurity (when a baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy) is associated with a large number of health problems and is also the leading cause of death in the first years of life. Now, a new report by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that around 13.4 millions of babies were born prematurely in 2020; that is, 1 in 10 live births.
The study has been published in The Lancet and reveals that no region in the world has significantly reduced premature birth rates over the last decade. The overall annual rate of reduction in preterm births between 2010 and 2020 was just 0.14%. Poor maternal health and malnutrition are the cause of a large number of preterm births and, therefore, taking measures to improve health care and nutrition for pregnant women would help prevent preterm births.
Furthermore, taking into account that health complications are common in premature babies, who can experience everything from developmental delays or disabilities to serious illnesses or chronic illnesses when they reach adulthood – such as diabetes and heart pathologies – it is necessary to reinforce the care for these children to improve their survival and long-term prognosis.
“There is an urgent need for investments to support premature babies and their families, and a greater focus on prevention, ensuring access to quality medical care before and during each pregnancy”
“Premature babies are especially vulnerable to life-threatening health complications and need special care and attention,” said Dr. Anshu Banerjee, Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging. from the WHO: “These figures show the urgent need for investments in services available to support them and their families, as well as a greater focus on prevention, in particular, ensuring access to quality healthcare before and during each pregnancy ”.
Pregnancy complications associated with premature births
The document, National, regional and global estimates of preterm births in 2020, with 2010 trends: a systematic analysis, provides global, regional and national estimates and trends for preterm births between 2010 and 2020, revealing large disparities between regions and countries . About 65% of preterm births in 2020 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where more than 13% of babies were born premature. The rates in the most affected countries – Bangladesh (16.2%), Malawi (14.5%) and Pakistan (14.3%) – are three to four times higher than those in the least affected countries: Serbia (3, 8%), Moldova (4%) and Kazakhstan (4.7%).
Premature birth, however, is not only a problem in low- and middle-income countries, but data reveals that it affects families around the world; Thus, in some high-income countries, such as Greece (11.6%) and the United States (10%), rates of 10% or more are recorded.
Risk situations for the mother’s health, such as teenage pregnancy, infections, poor nutrition and preeclampsia, are closely related to premature births. Quality prenatal care is essential to detect and treat complications, ensure accurate dating of pregnancy through early ultrasound, and, if necessary, delay delivery through approved interventions and treatments.
The estimates in the report have been derived from nationally representative population data, using Bayesian models (probability models) to generate internationally comparable country-level estimates for 2020. These national estimates are published for the first time in this document and in the WHO website.
As birth registration and facility-based deliveries have increased, data on the prevalence of preterm births have improved. However, information is still lacking and 92 countries do not have adequate nationally representative data. The authors call on decision makers to commit to improving data availability and quality, as well as information sharing, so that appropriate support and action can be targeted where it is most needed.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and The Lancet
