Ministry of Health, Health Development Partners release on World Prematurity Day 2013

INTRODUCTION

1. World Prematurity Day (November 17 2013) is a global movement to raise awareness about prematurity highlighting the burden of preterm birth and informing on simple, proven cost-effective solutions. This year marks the third global World Prematurity Day. Last year there were events in over 60 countries with 1.4 billion people reach through media and social media channels. Nigeria is joining the rest of the world this year to mark the 3rd World Prematurity Day with the theme: “Every Breathe Counts” and a slogan: “Born too soon; Hold Them Close”.
2. This day was first marked as "International Prematurity Awareness Day" on November 17 globally in 2009. It was officially launched and celebrated as World Prematurity Day in 2011 worldwide. For Africa, in 2010, LittleBigSouls marked the day International Prematurity Awareness Day with a walk in Nigeria. This year, Federal Ministry of Health is leading out in commemorating the day in partnership with all stakeholders in Newborn Health.
3. The main objective of the event is to raise awareness for prematurity and the concerns of preterm babies and their families in Nigeria. It is imperative that negative practices and views are completely eradicated through the education of the general populace. Note that Cultural misconceptions of pre-term birth greatly impacts negatively on the care of premature babies.

Definition:A premature baby is simply a tiny baby, born too soon (before 37 weeks of gestation), that needs the best available care and support to have a chance at survival.Burden of Prematurity:Worldwide, of the 15.1 million preterm babies, 13 million survived beyond the first month of life. Of the survivors, 345,000 (2.7 percent) had moderate or severe impairment and 567,000 (4.4 percent) had mild impairment. Infants born preterm represent the largest child patient group in the world. In Nigeria, Preterm birth rate is 12 per 100 live births (UNIAG 2012) and prematurity accounts for 33% of Neonatal deaths, translating to about 87,800 deaths. (UNIAG 2012)Despite tremendous improvements in maternal and neonatal care, preterm delivery remains the leading cause of infant mortality ( Most women deliver at home: about 75%.  NDHS 2008). In Nigeria it accounts for over 10% of neonatal deaths and 50% of long term neurological impairment in children. Problems of PrematurityThese include hypothermia (Problems with keeping warm), infection, feeding breathing difficulties, delayed developmental milestones etc. Although there has been significant attention focused on neonatal intensive care for extremely preterm infants, little attention has been given to the majority of preterm infants – those born at 34 through 36 weeks gestational age (late preterm). They may appear larger in size, yet they are still more vulnerable to complications and disabilities than full-term infants because of lack of enabling environment in the homes for them to thrive.Late-preterm infants have greater morbidity and total healthcare costs than term infants, and these differences persist throughout the first year of life resulting in higher rates of hospital admissions and readmissions during the neonatal period. Call to action: What should we be doing?

1. Although there are many known risk factors for preterm, we still do not fully understand why preterm happens. 
2. Education is needed at the national, state and local levels to raise awareness for this public health problem.
3. A number of strategies including simple and cost-effective methods have been developed to prevent and manage premature births, which include;

Antenatal corticosteroids given to mothers in preterm labor. These are injections of dexamethosone, a steroid used to treat asthma, which helps speed up the development of the baby’s lungs.Kangaroo Mother Care, a technique where the infant is held skin-to-skin on the mother's chest, keeps the baby warm and facilitates breastfeeding. Keeping preterm babies warm is especially important because tiny bodies lose heat rapidly, making these babies highly vulnerable to illness, infection and death.Antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, to treat pneumonia, and gentamicin and penicillin to fight serious infections, could save over half a million lives each year.Continuous positive airways pressure ventilation system helps preterm babies with breathing difficulties.

1. In the community, simple, evidence based interventions such as adequate hygiene, thermal care (Kangaroo Mother care) and breast feeding can be practiced at home.

Government’s Efforts:

• FMOH has put Newborn interventions on priority agenda
• Campaign for antenatal care and hospital delivery has been intensified.
• Integration of programs to build synergy in tackling the issues of the newborn has been highly effected. Example: The use of intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy, insecticide treated bed nets, environmental sanitation to prevent breeding places for mosquitoes, and treatment of clinical malaria with Artesunate combination therapy, has incorporated in our antenatal programmes.
• Strengthening of the human resource for health: The Midwive’s Service Scheme which is ensuring that mothers are delivered of their babies by skilled birth attendants to promote neonatal survival.
• Enlisting of antenatal corticosteroids as one of the commodities for UN commission for Life saving skills to prevent respiratory distress syndrome in the preterm.

For more information, please contact:New Born Desk Officer,Federal Ministry of Health, Family Health Department,Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 2,Central Area, Abuja.