1 in 10 of world’s babies born prematurely

October 5, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

A variety of different factors are responsible for babies being born prematurely, but documentation and solid data is lacking in most parts of the world.

While it may not be surprising to hear that premature births are common in the African continent, the news that North America rates a close second may shock some people.

A report released by the March of Dimes yesterday shed some light on the subject of preemies stating that nearly one in ten babies across the world is born premature with a resulting 1 million of them dying each year. However, the topic is generally considered to be understudied and poorly documented. “These are conservative estimates,” said March of Dimes epidemiologist Christopher Howson, who headed the project. “As shocking as this toll is, that toll will only rise.”

A variety of factors influence the reasons for premature birth in each country. Many First World countries like the United States battle prematurity with technology and first-rate intensive care units to nurse the baby back to health. But this approach, mixed with an underreporting of the long-term effects to babies that survive the ordeal, may lead to a false sense that technology can cure all.

The March of Dimes found that data was severely lacking in many countries on the prevalence of preterm births, mortality rates of preemies, and long term impairments. Countries and regions like Africa, Central Asia and China were primarily identified as needing better data collection systems, but the March of Dimes also pointed the finger at “rich nations”.

Despite the holes in the data, there was more than enough evidence to conclude “that preterm birth is a global problem that needs greater attention by policy makers, researchers, health care providers, the media, donor organizations and other stakeholders.”

The report continued by making strong suggestions to the international community to do a number of things to battle the growing problem:

• Increase visibility of the problem to health professionals, policy makers, the media and potential mothers.

• Define the problem and standardize the data collection.

• Increase funding in high-prevalence regions to strengthen training and improve the diagnosis and recording of preterm births.

• Promote basic health strategies for the public to decrease the prevalence and risks.

• Increase advocacy and investment for support groups and further research on the causes of preterm birth.

The March of Dimes will release a global report on the subject in 2010 and will provide more in-depth strategies to reduce mortality and disability associated with preterm birth.