What is World Prematurity Day?
Every year on November 17th, World Prematurity Day raises concerns about premature births for their families.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 million babies are born preterm. According to this, one in ten babies is born too early. At less than 37 weeks gestation, a baby is considered premature. The number of preterm babies continues to rise. India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the United States are among the countries with the largest preterm births. Premature births are raising questions because these babies have an elevated risk of injury. Some of the most common disorders and health problems include cerebral palsy, developmental delay, asthma, hearing loss, vision impairment, intestinal disorders, and recurrent infections.
Other babies are at risk of death. Due to complications related to a premature birth, one million babies die each year. Premature birth is the leading cause of child death among children under the age of 5. Half of these babies die as a result of a lack of cost-effective care and a lack of primary care for infections and respiratory difficulties in low-income countries. Most babies born in high-income countries, who were born or after 32 weeks, almost always survive.
Helping babies live
Premature babies are tiny, and their organs are often underdeveloped. Baby Saybie is the world's tiniest premature baby to live. She was born at 23 weeks and weighed just 8.6 ounces. Doctors told her parents that she only had hours to live. She was released from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in San Diego, California, five months later.
