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Born too soon: preterm birth matters

Christopher P Howson, Mary V Kinney, Lori McDougall

Reproductive Health

|March 15, 2014

Insights

Urgent action is needed to address the 15 million annual preterm births globally. Increased policy attention and investment are crucial for preventing preterm birth and improving care, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Area of Science:

Global Health
Maternal and Child Health
Public Policy

Background:

Globally, 15 million babies are born preterm annually, with increasing rates in many regions.
Preterm birth impacts child survival (MDG 4) and maternal health (MDG 5), with long-term disability risks.
Despite recognition in high-income countries, preterm birth remains under-addressed in low- and middle-income settings due to myths and lack of awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine the global policy context surrounding preterm birth.
To highlight the need for increased attention and investment in preterm birth prevention and care.
To underscore the link between preterm birth, child survival, and maternal health initiatives.

Main Methods:

Policy analysis of the global landscape of preterm birth.
Review of existing data and reports on preterm birth prevalence and trends.
Examination of interventions across the reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health continuum.

Main Results:

Preterm birth is a critical factor for achieving child survival goals and enhancing maternal health investments.
Global attention to preterm birth reached a tipping point in 2012 with major reports and awareness campaigns.
Effective interventions require a comprehensive approach spanning prevention and care, integrated within broader health systems.

Conclusions:

More research, policy attention, and programmatic investment are essential for preterm birth prevention and care.
Addressing preterm birth requires overcoming myths and misconceptions, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Strengthening interventions across the continuum of care is vital for improving outcomes for premature infants and mothers.

Read full analysis

Abstract:

Urgent action is needed to address preterm birth given that the fi rst country-level estimates show that globally 15 million babies are born too soon and rates are increasing in most countries with reliable time trend data. As the fi rst in a supplement entitled “Born Too Soon”, this paper focuses on the global policy context. Preterm birth is critical for progress on Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG) for child survival by 2015 and beyond, and gives added value to maternal health (MDG 5) investments also linking to non-communicable diseases. For preterm babies who survive, the additional burden of prematurity-related disability may aff ect families and health systems. Prematurity is an explicit priority in many high-income settings; however, more attention is needed especially in low- and middle-income countries where the invisibility of preterm birth as well as its myths and misconceptions have slowed action on prevention and care. Recent global attention to preterm birth hit a tipping point in 2012, with the May 2 publication of Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth and with the 2nd annual World Prematurity Day on November 17 which mobilised the actions of partners in many countries to address preterm birth and newborn health. Interventions to strengthen preterm birth prevention and care span the continuum of care for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health. Both prevention of preterm birth and implementation of care of premature babies require more research, as well as more policy attention and programmatic investment.

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