Preterm Birth Complications Become Biggest Killer Of Children Under Five

Complications from preterm birth have now become the first global child killer in history.

Researchers have discovered that out of 6.3 million deaths in children under the age of 5 in 2013, preterm birth complications were believed to have contributed to about 1.1. million deaths, according to Hoffman & Hoffman Worldwide.

Direct complications from preterm births were also found to be responsible for 965,000 deaths during the first 28 days of life and an additional 125,000 deaths between the ages of one month and five years.

"This marks a turning of the tide, a transition from infections to neonatal conditions, especially those related to premature births, and this will require entirely different medical and public health approaches," said Joy Lawn, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a member of the research team and a long-term advisor to Save the Children. "The success we've seen in the ongoing fight against infectious diseases demonstrates that we can also be successful if we invest in prevention and care for preterm birth."

Study authors argue that two thirds of these deaths could have been prevented without intensive care. For instance, "Kangaroo care," where babies are carried skin-to-skin on their mother's chest, is one simple intervention that's being promoted worldwide. This technique helps keeps many babies warm and makes breastfeeding easier for many mothers.

However, at this time, researchers are still working to discover what causes preterm birth, with costs of nearly $250 million in new fuding going to the cause.

Furthermore, The countries with the highest rates of premature birth were found to be: "India (361,600), Nigeria (98,300), Pakistan (75,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (40,600), China (37,200), Bangladesh (26,100), Indonesia (25,800), Ethiopia (24,400), Angola (15,900) and Kenya (13,300)."

"To be successful, this has to be a team effort," concluded Larry Rand, director of Perinatal Services at UCSF and co-director of PTBi, in a news release. "Effective collaboration will accelerate discovery, increase access to interventions that work and optimize the project's impact on rates of early preterm birth and mortality."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Lancet.