Born too soon: priorities to improve the prevention and care of preterm birth

Abstract

For over 50 years there has been a commitment to multilateralism and funding for science and health. Recent shifts around the world jeopardise the ability of all countries to address existing and new health crises, and specifically threaten hard-won progress in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, including for preterm babies who are particularly vulnerable. Preterm birth remains a silent emergency of a global scale. Every 2 seconds, a baby is born too soon [1]. Every 40 seconds, one of those babies dies. An estimated 13.4 million babies were born preterm (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) in 2020 - equivalent to nearly one in ten babies being born preterm worldwide [2].