UN: 1M Premature Babies Die Yearly

Facts

• The UN on Wednesday released its “Born Too Soon” report, stating that premature births — which claim the lives of 1M babies annually —are the leading cause of child mortality in the world, with no progress having been made in reducing preterm births for a decade.¹
• The preterm birth rate was 9.8% in 2010 and increased to 9.9% in 2020. In high-income countries, 90% of babies born before six months of pregnancy will survive, but in low-income countries, this drops to 10%.²
• However, 85% of preterm births occur between 32 and 37 weeks, when survival without intensive care is generally possible.²
• The data follows a separate report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which found that more than 4.5M women and babies die every year in pregnancy, childbirth, or the first weeks after birth, “mostly from preventable or treatable causes if proper care was available.”³
• Researchers have found that simple, low-cost measures to help pregnant women – such as offering aspirin to mothers at risk of preterm delivery – could prevent more than 1M stillbirths and neonatal deaths every year in developing countries.⁴
• Meanwhile, the WHO recommends eight prenatal care practices, with the UN report finding that less than 60% of women in the worst-affected countries received even four of the recommended checks.⁵

Sources: ¹The Telegraph, ²Le Monde.fr, ³New Delhi Times, ⁴Bangkokpost, and ⁵Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Gavi. A lack of adequate health services contribute to this “silent emergency,” which sees premature births accounting for more than one in five deaths of children before their fifth birthday. Often survivors face lifelong health consequences that include an increased likelihood of disability and developmental delays. It’s imperative that governments ensure every woman has access to quality health care before and during pregnancy to reduce these inexcusable statistics.
• Narrative A, as provided by UN News. A lack of adequate health services contribute to this “silent emergency,” which sees premature births accounting for more than one in five deaths of children before their fifth birthday. Often survivors face lifelong health consequences that include an increased likelihood of disability and developmental delays. It’s imperative that governments ensure every woman has access to quality health care before and during pregnancy to reduce these inexcusable statistics.