17/11/2022
November 17th is celebrated as World Prematurity Day (WPD) .It acknowledges the journeys of preterm infants and their families as well as raises awareness of the challenges faced by children born preterm and their families. According to WHO almost 15 million children are born preterm( before 37 weeks) that is almost 3 weeks early. Premature births is one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of five worldwide.
Common causes of preterm birth include twins,infections and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure but often no cause is identified.
These babies are prone to develop cerebral palsy, delayed milestones, frequent infections, hearing and sight problems.
World Prematurity Day was created, to shine a light on the risk and hardships created by premature births and spreading compassion for families who have experienced premature births. Unfortunately, not all parents get to bring their premature babies home. That’s why we need to continue to raise awareness of prematurity: to support parents and families at such a difficult time. This year the theme for WPD is "A parent's embrace: a powerful therapy. Enable skin-to-skin contact from the moment of birth".
This theme specifies and promotes the Kangaroo care also called skin-to-skin contact (SSC), which is a technique of newborn care where babies are kept chest-to-chest and skin-to-skin with a parent, typically their mother (occasionally their father).
