Every year, approximately 15-million babies are born prematurely every year. That’s about 10% of all babies born each year. Premature birth is one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of 5, which makes it a significant world health crisis. To raise awareness about this urgent health crisis, World Prematurity Day was invented. This holiday is observed every November 17th to raise awareness about this health problem. 

The History Of World Prematurity Day 

This holiday was created by the European Parent’s Organizations in 2008 as Prematurity Day to raise awareness about premature births. Not soon after, it began to be celebrated outside of Europe and by 2011 it was celebrated all around the world and known as World Prematurity Day. By 2013, it was observed in over 60 countries. 

Premature Birth Facts & Statistics

Anyone interested in celebrating this holiday and who wants to know more about preterm births will want to read this section of this holiday. Below are some alarming facts that we’ve uncovered during our research. 

• Over 450,000 babies in the U.S are born prematurely.
• The cause of preterm births in about half of the cases is unknown. 
• Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children ages 5-years and under.
• Approximately 75% of preterm birth deaths could be prevented with appropriate interventions. 
• The rate of preterm births across 184 different countries is as low as 5% to as high as 18%.
• There are two types of premature births: premature rupture of the amniotic sac and physician-induced.

Observing World Prematurity Day

World Prematurity Day can be observed by donating to March Of Dimes or other organizations that are addressing the problem of prematurity. People can also wear the color purple or use purple ribbons on their trees to show their support for this holiday. The hashtags #WorldPrematurityDay and #BlanketChange can also be used on this holiday to raise awareness about the need of improving the health of expecting mothers to reduce the incidence of preterm babies.