Prematurity, the problem

Being able to detect prematurity in time is the great battle in Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Prematurity * is the leading cause of infant mortality in developed countries, the second around the world, and has an overall prevalence of approximately 10%. In 2016, prematurity represented 35% of deaths in infants and 16% globally in children under 5 years of age. This is one of the most important clinical problems in the world as it is increasing in developed countries. Every year, more than 15 million premature children are born in the world who can suffer complications due to this condition. Prematurity contributes in the long term to suffering disability in the growth and morbidity associated with it, such as cognitive, visual or learning morbidity.

The possible causes of premature birth are very numerous and disparate, being preeclampsia or eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction the main causes followed by membrane ruptures and pregnancies due to assisted reproduction techniques. The endocrine changes that precede birth in women remain elusive and this makes it difficult to predict spontaneous delivery at term, and much more, spontaneous preterm birth. Early intervention in this group of women would have a significant impact on the neonatal mortality and morbidity figures.

*Defined as a condition suffered by babies born before the 37th week of gestation.

Image adapted from Saifon Chawanpaiboon et als. "Global, regional, and national estimates of levels of preterm birth in 2014: a systematic review and modelling analysis"