Worldwide, 1 in 10 babies is born preterm (<37
weeks’ gestation) – that’s an estimated one baby
every two seconds (1). Rates of preterm birth have
barely changed during the past decade, and in
some places rates are rising. In 2020 it is estimated
that nearly 1 million newborns died due to
complications of preterm birth (one baby every 40
seconds) and millions more survive with disabilities
that follow them and their families throughout
their lives. Preterm birth is the single largest killer
of children under 5 years of age, accounting for
more than one in three of all neonatal deaths (first
month of life) (2), and neonatal conditions are the
leading cause of lost human capital in the most
recent estimates of the global burden of disease,
unchanged since 1990.