'Preterm birth complications main cause of death among under-5

World Prematurity Day is a key moment to focus global attention on the leading cause of deaths amongst children below five, which is the complications from preterm birth, that accounts for over 1 million deaths each year, Dr Yaron Wolman, Chief of Health, UNICEF-India said here today.
Addressing a symposium organised by Telangana Government in partnership with UNICEF here on the importance of focusing on preterm births, Wolman said, "Without a major push to reduce these deaths, we will not reach the goal of sustainable development that is endorsed by 193 countries including India, to end all preventable newborn and child deaths by 2030."

Superintendent of state-run Niloufer Hospital, Dr Suresh Kumar, speaking at the symposium 'Saving the Preterm Newborn', organised to mark the World Prematurity Day, said, "Niloufer Hospital is the state nodal centre for newborn care and we have trained SNCU staff of all districts on intervention like Kangaroo Mother Care and CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) ventilation."
"If these interventions are implemented effectively, we can save about 30 per cent of preterm newborns," he said.
According to the release, preterm/prematurity is defined as newborns delivered before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed.
Globally, around 15 million babies are born prematurely each year. Of these, around 1 million babies die from complications due to prematurity. Globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborns, it said.

The release stated that India has the highest number of premature births as well as deaths of premature newborn in the world.