Premature birth describes all babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In the UK, a baby is generally considered viable if it is born at 24 weeks, yet their chances of survival are only 50%.
Premature birth is the leading cause of childhood mortality in the world today. More significant than infection, trauma or cancer, premature birth affects some 15 million babies across the world each year, nearly 60,000 in the UK, and comes with a high emotional and financial cost to our society.
Being born too soon leaves many babies with lifelong disability. But the cause of premature birth is too often unexplained. And once labour is established, doctors are helpless to stop it.