Survival rates for premature babies improving

A University of Edinburgh study has found that while rates of premature birth have risen, the risk of neonatal death has more than halved. 

The research, conducted from 1980 to 2005, found that premature births had gone up 16 per cent alongside a ten percent reduction in stillbirth associated with pre-term births.

The study also found that improvements in survival rates of premature babies were greater for medically induced or pre-planned Caesarean section births than when labour occurred naturally.

Professor Jane Norman, director of the Tommy’s Centre for Maternal and Fetal Health Research at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The increase in survival rates for babies who are born prematurely backs up decisions by doctors to medically induce births to prevent potential complications."

Researchers hope that the findings will shed light on the causes behind premature births in order to treat them more effectively in the future.

The Centre for Maternal and Fetal Health Research was funded by the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government and Tommy's – the only charity whose sole focus is preventing pregnancy complications.

It opened last year as one of three "research centres of excellence" funded by Tommy's, with counterparts in London and Manchester. The centre's research goals are to understand the basic science of pregnancy and the cause of early labour and other complications.

This particular branch has a central focus on obesity and its effects on maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. In this vein, the study found that growing rates of diabetes in expectant mothers had resulted in increased premature births. However, high blood pressure has remained the main cause.

Prof. Norman said:"The increase in diabetes as a factor in premature births is also interesting and may be because there are more women with pre-existing diabetes—which is linked to obesity—as well as better diagnosis of expectant mothers with gestational diabetes."

Premature births are linked to more than 66 per cent of single baby still births, 65 per cent of single baby neonatal deaths and 67 per cent of infants who have a prolonged stay in the neonatal unit.

The research was carried out in collaboration with NHS Scotland and the Information Services Division and has been published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine