Neonatal death and preterm deliveries (Spain)

Preterm delivery is the first cause of neonatal death, and the complications it entails constitute the second cause of death among under 5s. Preterm deliveries are concentrated in Africa and Asia, but over the past 20 years, they have increased worldwide except for three countries. Of the 10 countries with the highest rate of preterm delivery (between 15 and 18 per 1,000 births), 7 are in Africa (Malawi, Congo, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Gabon and Mauritania) and two in Asia (Pakistan and Indonesia).

The increase in preterm deliveries in countries with medium or high incomes is due to different interlinked causes, the main ones being late age of maternity, high emotional stress because of the difficulties of conciliating a professional life with motherhood (in spite of improvement in processes of equality) and the spread of certain obstetric practices –often unnecessary- like increased caesarean sections and induced labour.

In Euskadi in 2015, births before 37 weeks were 5.9% of the total births, compared to almost double that figure for Spain as a whole (10%).

Photo, Clara Sánchez