An estimated one million preterm babies die each year

Sunday 17 November is World Prematurity Day. Busi Nkosi of the ICPCN takes a closer look at the need for palliative care for those preterm babies and their families who need palliative care.

Every year around the world, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed), and this number is rising. An estimated 1 million babies die annually from preterm birth complications. Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing impairments. Preterm birth is the leading cause of newborn deaths (within the first four weeks of life) and the second leading cause of death after pneumonia in children under the age of five years…read more

“When brand new life and death are separated by mere minutes, we can ‘create shelters in the storm’ that preserve the dignity of experiences that families expect to be of great joy, but at some point along the way, turn into immense sadness”.

From ehospice’s International Children’s edition.