WHO Recommendations for care of pre-term or low birth weight infants

An estimated 15 million babies are born too early every year. That is more than 1 in 10 babies. Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth. Many surviving babies face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems.

On World Prematurity Day 2022, 17 November 2022, The Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva is launching new recommendations based on new evidence that has emerged that can improve the care of preterm or low birth weight babies. There are 25 recommendations which substantially expand the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ for improving the survival, health and well-being of preterm and low birth weight babies. This includes kangaroo mother care and involving families in the care of their babies right from the time of birth. The Global AIM Lab/Dr. Krysten North led the systematic review on family involvement in the routine newborn care of the preterm infant, which is one of the major new recommendations that is being highlighted in the WHO guidelines. See the announcement by the World Health Organization.