New Research: Preventing the Annual Death of One Million Infants by Providing Affordable Services to Pregnant Women

New research shows that providing simple and affordable healthcare services to pregnant women, such as prescribing aspirin, could prevent the birth of stillborn infants or the annual death of over one million infants in developing countries. An international team of researchers estimates that one quarter of the world's infants are born preterm or underweight, stating that almost no progress has been made in this area. They have called on governments and organizations to increase the care that women and infants receive during pregnancy and childbirth in 81 low- or middle-income countries. According to a series of articles published in 'The Lancet', eight proven and actionable measures could prevent more than 565,000 stillbirths in these countries. These measures include providing protein, energy supplements, low-dose aspirin, progesterone hormone, education on the harms of smoking, treatment for malaria or syphilis, and identifying bacteria in urine. The research indicates that if steroids are provided to pregnant women and doctors do not cut the umbilical cord immediately, more than 475,000 newborn deaths could also be prevented. According to researchers, implementing these changes would cost about $1.1 billion. Per Ashorn, the lead author of this paper and a professor at the University of Tampere, Finland, states that this amount is 'a fraction of what other health programs receive.' Joy Lawn from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, another author of these papers, told AFP that researchers used a new definition for infants born preterm or underweight. She notes that the traditional method, defined randomly by a Finnish doctor in 1919 for low birth weight - less than 2.5 kg at birth - has remained a criterion for over a century. This researcher points out that there is substantial evidence indicating that not all infants are the same. She mentions that researchers analyzed a database of 160 million live births from 2000 to 2020, showing that many infants are born 'very early and very small.' Researchers estimate that in 2020, 35.3 million infants - or one in four infants - worldwide were preterm or very small, classifying them under the new term 'vulnerable small infants.' Joy Lawn states that one reason for the lack of progress in this area is that problems often occur for families and women who have a weaker voice.