Two charities today announced £1.5 million for new studies in a bid to stop more than 60,000 UK babies a year being born prematurely.
About 1,000 babies a year die here as a result of being delivered before 37 weeks’ gestation and many others are left seriously disabled.
The risk of being born early has been rising across the world, and pre-term birth complications are the leading cause of death for children under five.
Today’s initiative, from charities Action Medical Research and Borne, was backed by former England rugby international Will Greenwood, whose first child Freddie lived only 45 minutes after being born at 22 weeks.
Greenwood, who went on to have three more children with wife Caro after being helped by Borne founder Professor Mark Johnson, said: “There is so much yet to learn about why babies like Freddie are born too soon. We must focus on research to find answers to the problems that can accompany childbirth that cause so much heartbreak for families.”
Researchers are invited to bid for funding for projects that focus on causes of premature birth.
Trafalgar Square is among the landmarks being lit purple to mark World Prematurity Day today. Across the world, 15 million babies — one in 10 — are born prematurely each year. In the UK, the figure is one in 12.
Experts say the funding is vital in a “chronically underfunded area”.
Professor Johnson, chair of obstetrics at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said: “Research into the causes of pre-term birth is so important because it’s all about giving babies a chance of a normal life. Borne’s vision is a world in which a child’s first day on earth won’t have to be their hardest.”
Professor David Edwards, an expert in neonatal medicine at King’s College London and an Action Medical Research trustee, said: “This investment into much-needed medical research can help deepen our understanding of why babies are born prematurely and move us towards treatments to help reduce the numbers and improve the lives of those born too early.”
