Action Medical Research and Tommy’s welcome new White Paper on preterm birth
US nonprofit organisation, March of Dimes and the World Health Organization, release new White
Paper on the global and regional toll of preterm birth
Two of the UK’s leading children’s and baby charities, Action Medical Research and
Tommy’s, both welcome the White Paper’s statement that strategies for reducing death and
disability related to preterm birth must be given priority.1 Premature birth is a serious and
costly problem and more research is needed to improve understanding of the causes of
premature birth, and to develop strategies to reduce and prevent it.
The White Paper released by the March of Dimes, using data from the World Health
Organization, reports that in 2005, almost 1 in 10 (9.6%) (an estimated 13 million) babies
worldwide, were born prematurely.1 Premature birth has an enormous global impact,
emotionally, physically and financially on families and it is one of the major causes of death
in babies under one month. Approximately one million deaths in the first month of life, 28%
of total newborn deaths are due to premature birth.1 It can also lead to long-term
complications like cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and hearing and sight problems.
The White Paper showed that the highest rates of premature birth are found in Africa, 11.9%,
followed by North America, 10.6%, Asia, 9.1%, Latin America and the Caribbean, 8.1%, and
Oceania (Australia/New Zealand), 6.4%, with the lowest incidence in Europe, 6.2%.
Although Europe has one of the lowest rates, individual rates vary between the countries in
Europe. The incidence of premature birth in the UK is higher than the figure for Europe and
is estimated at between 7-8%.2,3
[Draft TBC] Commenting, Professor Jane Norman, member of Action Medical Research’s
Scientific Advisory Panel and Director of the Tommy’s Centre for Maternal and Fetal Health
Research says:
“More research is needed to improve understanding of the causes of
premature birth, to identify women most at risk of premature birth and also to develop
treatments to prevent it.
“Additionally, the extent to which the costs associated with preterm birth are an economic
burden has received little attention until now. Current research shows that the costs of
1
preterm birth extend well beyond childhood and into adult life. The White Paper findings
emphasise the importance of preventing preterm birth and highlight the need for co-ordinated
and global strategic approach towards research”.
There are many risk factors for premature birth including nutrition and body weight, a
previous history of premature birth, infection and the presence of medical conditions, for
example, diabetes and high blood pressure.1 However, women with no obvious risk factors
deliver as many as half of all premature babies, a further indication that more research is
needed to tackle this problem. A recent Tommy’s funded study, published in Pediatrics
Journal, showed that the annual total cost of preterm birth to the public over the first 18 years
of life is £2.946 billion.4 According to Tommy’s calculations, this means that the total
incremental cost of preterm birth to the public sector is estimated to be £939 million per
year.5 .
There is a challenge in collating data on the incidence of premature birth as few countries
have good health statistics and information systems or birth surveillance registries. This is
the first attempt to estimate the worldwide burden of premature birth and March of Dimes and
the World Health Organization have agreed a two stage process, with the publication of the
global and regional estimates, followed by a second document containing country level
estimates that will be published in 2010.
--Ends--
For further information please contact:
Case studies of parents who have had premature births and, spokespeople are available for
interview.
Tola Awogbamiye at Action Medical Research
Tel: 01403 327 493
Email: tola@action.org.uk
Nina Diringer at Tommy’s
Tel: 020 7398 3448
Email: ndiringer@tommys.org
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Action Medical Research
Action Medical Research is a leading children’s charity. For nearly 60 years we have been
instrumental in significant medical breakthroughs including the development of the UK polio
vaccine and ultrasound scanning in pregnancy. Our research helps babies and children
affected by disease and disability. One of our key aims is to fund research into serious
conditions including premature birth, and other conditions that threaten unborn babies’ lives,
2
and find the best ways to care for those babies who need extra help at birth or in the first
year of life.
www.action.org.uk
Tommy’s
At Tommy’s we believe it is unacceptable that one in four women loses a baby every year.
We want to give every baby the best chance of being born healthy, so we work to fund
medical research into the causes of premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriage, and provide a
free information service that educates all parents-to-be about health in pregnancy.
Our information service is informed by our medical research and includes a telephone
midwife service, a comprehensive website and free books and leaflets promoting health in
pregnancy.
www.tommys.org
References
1
March of Dimes White of Paper on preterm birth: the global and regional toll; March of Dimes: New York 2009.
NHS Maternity Statistics, England: 2006-07; referencing HES online, Maternity data, Gestation, Table 26
http://www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=1053
3
NHS Maternity Statistics, England: 2007-08; referencing HES online, Maternity data, Gestation, Table 26 http://www.hesonline.nhs.uk/Ease/servlet/ContentServer?siteID=1937&categoryID=1053
4
Mangham LJ, Petrou S, Doyle LW, Draper ES, Marlow N. The cost of preterm birth throughout childhood in England and
Wales. Pediatrics. 2009;123(2):e312-27.
5
How to calculate cost of premature birth: Incremental costs of pre-term birth (Average cost per preterm birth minus average
cost per term birth), giving extra cost per preterm birth, multiplied by the number of preterm births. eg (£61391 – £41813) x
47982 = £939 million (See table 1.)
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TABLE1
SCENARIO 1 - 2006 REALITY
Number
of live
births
Gestational
Age
Avg Cost Per
Live Birth
Incremental
Cost
Total Incremental
Cost
Total Cost
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
231
598
666
809
881
1,141
1,106
1,523
1,805
2,670
3,740
5,954
9,333
17,525
£19,760
£62,347
£72,645
£83,663
£94,904
£98,544
£95,364
£95,316
£88,981
£83,902
£67,179
£60,437
£52,086
£49,029
-£23,456
£19,131
£29,429
£40,447
£51,688
£55,328
£52,148
£52,100
£45,765
£40,686
£23,963
£17,221
£8,870
£5,813
-£5,418,320
£11,440,380
£19,599,761
£32,721,680
£45,537,190
£63,129,328
£57,675,765
£79,348,407
£82,605,951
£108,631,807
£89,621,882
£102,534,251
£82,784,364
£101,874,053
£4,564,560
£37,283,506
£48,381,570
£67,683,367
£83,610,424
£112,438,704
£105,472,584
£145,166,268
£160,610,705
£224,018,340
£251,249,460
£359,841,898
£486,118,638
£859,233,225
All Pre-term
47982
£61,391
£19,578
£939,401,883
£2,945,673,249
Term
621,618
£41,813
N/A
N/A
£25,991,713,434
All Births
669,600
£43,216
N/A
N/A
£28,937,386,683
3