Preterm birth

A pregnancy usually lasts for approximately 37 to 42 weeks. Healthcare professionals have defined different gestational stages in which babies are born:

Every baby born before completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy is born too soon and considered as born “preterm”, before term. Preterm babies did not have enough time to be fully developed. They are born with immaturely developed organs and most of them need special care².

Worldwide situation
Worldwide, estimated 15 million babies are born preterm annually – 10% of all newborns worldwide. The range of the preterm birth rate varies from country to country from about 5% to 18%. There are huge inequalities in survival rates around the world. In high-income countries, 50% of the babies born extremely preterm with 24 weeks survive, while in low-income settings only 50% survive when they are born at 32 weeks gestational age. This low rate of survival is due to a lack of basic care, like warmth, breastfeeding support, and treatments of infections. Preterm birth complications are the main cause of global under-5 deaths and many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems³.

Causes & risk factors
Preterm birth occurs for a variety of reasons. The majority of preterm births happen spontaneously. Experts have identified several factors, which may increase the risk of preterm birth: Medical conditions, as infections and genetic predispositions, lifestyle factors, as overweight, smoking or high stress levels, as well as demographic factors, as young or old age or socio disadvantages. Some risk factors are “modifiable,” meaning they can be changed to help reduce the risk, while others cannot be changed. However, in about 50% of cases no cause for the baby born too early can be identified. ^4/5

The concept of small for gestational age (SGA) describes babies who are smaller than the usual average for the number of weeks of pregnancy. The definition of SGA is not dependent on the height, but the birth weight being below the 10th percentile. SGA is caused by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) due to genetic predispositions or insufficient supply of nutrients, or by physiological reasons, such as unusual small parents ^6.

Worldwide situation
About 32 million babies, 27% of the livebirths in low- and middle-income countries are born SGA. The SGA rate is especially high in South Asia, the Sahel region and India [7]. IUGR is the second leading cause of perinatal mortality after preterm birth. Foetuses which are suffering from IUGR have a 5 to 10 times higher risk to die during pregnancy ⁸.

Causes & risk factors
IUGR has many adverse consequences on the survival, health, growth and development. The most important risk factor in IUGR is poor maternal nutrition. This not only includes the nutritional status during pregnancy, but also before conception. An additional factor is a short mother’s stature due to undernourishment or infections during childhood. Especially in middle-or high income countries, the highest risk factor for IUGR is smoking. ^7/9

Before, during and in the days after birth, children are especially vulnerable to develop diseases and disorders. Some of these are in severe conditions, which can result in long-term health impairments for the children and their families.

This includes the development of genetically determined disorders, like phenylketonuria, sickle cell anaemia, or any physiological impairments, perinatal health issues, like birth asphyxia, newborn health issues, like jaundice, infections/fever, diarrhoea, Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) or Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Additionally, maternal infections can be transferred to the newborn, for example Malaria or human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). Several other diseases threaten the foetus or newborns, like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Fragile X syndrome, or foetal alcohol and drug-related syndromes.

Worldwide situation
In low and middle income countries, about 6.9 million newborns need specialised or intensive care due to severe infections, such as sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia every year. Worldwide about 7 to 14 million need basic resuscitation at birth, 1.2 million have severe diseases of the brain (encephalopathy) and due to jaundice about half a million newborns need treatment. Other birth defects, such as spina bifida or genetical disorders are diagnosed in about 1.3 million newborns. ¹

Causes & risk factors
Causes and risk factors for diseases or disabilities of newborns are various, but often preventable by a high quality care around the time of birth for mother and child. Undernourishment of mother and child, undiagnosed and untreated infections as well as inaccessible professional healthcare play major roles in developing or long-term suffering from diseases or disabilities.