World Prematurity Day is an observance held on the 17th of November in more than 50 countries worldwide. In the U.S. alone, approximately one in 10 is born prematurely every year.
A premature birth is a birth before the 37th week of pregnancy. There are sub-categories of preterm birth listed below:
-extremely preterm: less than 28 weeks
-very preterm: 28 to 32 weeks
-moderate to late preterm: 32 to 37 weeks.
Common causes include multiple pregnancies, infections and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Often, there is no reason at all.
World Prematurity day was started by the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI), March of Dimes, Africa-based Little Big Souls International Foundation, and the National Premmie Foundation of Australia in 2011.
The goal of World Prematurity Day is to increase awareness, reach and engagement around the world about the issues of premature birth, newborn health and survival.
According to March of Dimes, the complications of prematurity is the world’s number one killer of young children. Of the estimated 6.3 million deaths of children under the age of 5 in 2013, complications from preterm births resulted in nearly 1.1 million deaths.
Click here to check how your state scored in premature births.
