World Prematurity Day 2021: Zero Separation – Act Now! Keep Parents and Babies Born Too Soon Together
On World Prematurity Day, 17 November, we raise awareness of the challenges and the burden of preterm birth. This day was initiated by EFCNI and European parent organizations in 2008 and joined by the US organization March of Dimes, the African organization LittleBigSouls, and the Australian National Premmie Foundation in 2010, to honor the 15 million babies that are born preterm every year, worldwide. Today, individuals and organizations from across the world join forces with activities and events to draw attention to the topic of preterm birth and to eventually improve the situation of preterm babies and their families.
The symbol for World Prematurity Day is the socksline. The small pair of purple socks – framed by nine full-size baby socks – symbolizes: 1 in 10 babies is born preterm. Worldwide.
This year’s global World Prematurity Day motto is “Zero separation - Act now! Keep parents and babies born too soon together”. This claim is a reaction to how the pandemic has particularly affected families with a hospitalized and/or preterm baby. In order to protect both staff and patients from contracting and spreading the virus, many clinics and hospitals were forced to take strict safety precautions and put rigorous hygiene measures in place.¹ Unfortunately, this has also meant that the contact between parents and their baby was often massively restricted if not fully prohibited. In some cases, the health situation became so precarious that even staff and equipment had to be moved from the neonatal units to the COVID-19 wards, a measure that has greatly affected the care for these neonates.²
Compared to babies born full-term, babies born prematurely often have a weaker immune system and are more likely to receive intensive medical treatment, making them especially susceptible to sepsis. An infection can be transferred during invasive medical procedures such as intravenous lines or breathing support by a mechanical ventilator.
¹Neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic – a global survey of parents’ experiences regarding infant and family-centred developmental care. EClinicalMedicine. 2021;39:101056. Kostenzer J, Hoffmann J, von Rosenstiel-Pulver C, Walsh A, Zimmermann LJI, Mader S. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101056
²Rao SPN, Minckas N, Medvedev MM, et al. Small and sick newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic: global survey and thematic analysis of healthcare providers’ voices and experiences. BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e004347. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2020-004347 (https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e004347)
The article above was written by Sarah Fuegenschuh, Head of Communications, EFCNI. Thanks, Sarah!