World Prematurity Day 2020: Theme, History, and Significance of the day

World Prematurity Day is celebrated every year on 17 November to raise awareness of premature birth and the worries of preterm babies and their families around the world.

World Prematurity Day points out the special issues confronting babies born prematurely, celebrates the growth and development of older children and babies who were born prematurely, and is an incredible day to help individuals from your community who work with infants or premature babies, or are parents changing with a prematurely born baby.

Internationally, an expected 15 million infants are born prematurely every year and that number is rising. World Prematurity Day assists with tending to this worry and improve the circumstance of preterm children and their families. On the 17th of November, help us to raise awareness of this significant day by turning your Babyleo’s mindset light to purple and spreading the word to your partners and the parents of neonates.

Celebrated since 2009, World Prematurity Day is an opportunity to point out the heavy burden of death and handicap and the torment and suffering that preterm birth causes. It is likewise an opportunity to discuss solutions. The huge number of events organized around the globe on World Prematurity Day remains the heart of the effort.

Every year, an expanding number of nations have noticed World Prematurity Day by organizing national and local events, including public art installations, parliamentary hearings, health professional meetings, marches, or purple lightning.

Premature birth is a very serious health issue. It is the main cause of death in children younger than five around the world. Children born too soon may have more health problems than infants born on time and may confront long-term health conditions that influence the brain, the lungs, hearing or vision. World Prematurity Day on November 17 raises awareness of this serious health emergency. WHO produces rules, tools, and proof based proposals to help prevent and care for preterm infants.

World Prematurity Day 2020 Theme

“World Prematurity Day 2020, Together for babies born too soon – Caring for the future”. The current year’s messaging focus lies on:

• Supporting families
• Supporting healthcare professionals
• Reinforcing healthcare systems

Together for Babies Born too Soon – Caring for the Future

Every year, 15 million children are born prematurely – more than one out of ten of all infants around the globe. World Prematurity Day is a vital moment to concentrate on the main cause of child deaths under age 5: complications from preterm birth, which represent almost 1 million deaths every year (UNICEF). Without a significant push to decrease these deaths, we won’t arrive at the global goal supported by 193 nations to end all preventable infant and child deaths by 2030.

Associations from around the globe, collaborating for World Prematurity Day, have incorporated tips for activities, social media content, and other promotional material to share your World Prematurity Day experience and plans.

History of the World Prematurity Day

Everything began in 1997, when Silke Mader was anticipating twins. They were delivered prematurely at 25 weeks of pregnancy, one died following one week and the other one is presently a becoming healthy teenager. This challenging experience showed Silke Mader that there were location related gaps in premature children care.

In 2008, she helped to establish the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI). She united with PD Dr Matthias Keller, neonatologist, Thomas Föringer, lawyer and Jürgen Popp, father who lost his premature trios. From that point forward, their purpose has been to definitively improve the consideration and circumstance of preterm children and their families on an European level.

To improve their effect, they made, in 2009, the International Prematurity Awareness Day which was renamed a few years after the fact, World Prematurity Day.

The first international awareness day for preterm birth on 17 November was made by European parent associations in 2008. It has been celebrated as World Prematurity Day since 2011. It has since advanced into a worldwide annual observance.

Parent groups, families, health professionals, politicians, hospitals, associations and different stakeholders engaged with preterm birth observe this day with media campaigns, local events, and different activities led on the local, regional, national, or international levels to raise awareness among the general population. In 2013, WPD was celebrated in more than 60 countries.

Purple is the official color for World Prematurity Day. Spectators of World Prematurity Day may wear your purple ribbon pin or use a purple lightbulb.

What Is Prematurity?

Medically, the term prematurity refers to the birth of a child under 37 weeks after the mother’s last normal menstrual period (gestational age). It is otherwise called preterm birth or premature birth. Premature babies are regularly referred to as preemies or premmies.

Every year, around 15 million children – which is about 10% of all infants – are born prematurely around the globe. Diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity increment the risk of giving birth prematurely.

What is premature birth?

Premature birth is the point at which a child is born before the finish of the 37th week of pregnancy. An ordinary pregnancy keeps going 40 weeks. Premature infants generally weight under 2,500 grams. The most minimal weight premature child to endure was born in 2006 in the 22nd week of the pregnancy. By then, the infant weighed 280 grams and was 24 cm long.

Premature birth: Causes

An issue in exploring the causes is lacking statistical and other information. The 2010 worldwide information accessible uncovers that the most frequent causes of premature births are:

• vaginal diseases are liable for around 50% of premature births. They progress up the vagina and trigger withdrawals which can’t be halted;
• smoking, diet, and stress can moreover be causes;
• old prima gravida (mother carrying her first kid is older than 35 years);
• various births, likewise as a result of fertility treatments.

World Prematurity Day is additionally a decent and ideal opportunity to contact parents you may realize who have infants who worn born prematurely, to perceive how things are going, or give them support. In the event that you are interested in helping families who are caring for prematurely born newborn children, or studying the special issues that face those infants, you may want to contact your local pregnancy center, midwife, or hospital birth center.

Individuals celebrating World Prematurity Day on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram use the hashtags: #PrematurityAwarenessMonth and #WorldPrematurityDay on their posts.