"Treating premature infants is like trying to stop a snowball once it's 99 percent of the way down the mountain and has become an avalanche," Rubens said. "The emphasis needs to be on prevention strategies that work everywhere, especially in low-resource, high-burden settings."
GAPPS is committed to leading global research efforts to discover the causes and mechanisms of preterm birth and stillbirth. Research leadership includes stewarding the Preventing Preterm Birth initiative, a Grand Challenge in Global Health from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; operating the GAPPS Repository of maternal and newborn samples and data for research of pregnancy and newborn health; and guidance on research harmonization.
Preterm birth is defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed. More information on Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth is available at www.gapps.org.
Countries with the greatest numbers of preterm births
1. India - 3,519,100
2. China - 1,172,300
3. Nigeria - 773,600
4. Pakistan - 748,100
5. Indonesia - 675,700
6. United States - 517,400
7. Bangladesh - 424,100
8. Philippines - 348,900
9. Democratic Republic of the Congo - 341,400
10. Brazil - 279,300
Countries with the highest rates of preterm births for every 100 births
1. Malawi-18.1
2. Comoros and Congo-16.7
4. Zimbabwe-16.6
5. Equatorial Guinea-16.5
6. Mozambique-16.4
7. Gabon-16.3
8. Pakistan-15.8
9. Indonesia-15.5
10.Mauritania-15.4
54.United States-12.0
| Contact: Casey Calamusa casey.calamusa@seattlechildrens.org 206-884-1014 Seattle Children's Source:Eurekalert |