16 babies will come early in NZ today

MEDIA RELEASE – For immediate release 17 November 2016 
16 babies will come early in NZ today 

If the averages play true, today there will be 16 babies born premature in New Zealand on World Prematurity Day. Babies are classified as premature if they are born before 37 weeks gestation. A normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.  

Approximately 1 in 10 of babies born in New Zealand every year arrive early. That's one every 90 minutes, and over 5,000 in total. Many arrive very early – some as early as 16 weeks early (24 weeks gestation). 

17 November is World Prematurity Day. Worldwide, one baby in ten is born premature. Annually, about 15 million babies arrive early. World Prematurity Day was officially launched and celebrated for the first time in 2011. In its five short years, it has grown exponentially as a global day around the world marked in more than 50 countries. 

Some stays in a neonatal unit last just a few days, others take a very long time. For example, from the personal stories on The Neonatal Trust website www.neonataltrust.org.nz: 
  * Charlotte, born 23 weeks 3 days, weighing 650grams - 132 days before going home for the first time.
  * Samuel, born 23 weeks 3 days, weighing 668 grams - 116 days before going home for the first time.
  * Kayla, born 24 weeks & 5 days, weighing 545 grams - 117 days before going home for the first time.
  * Elias, born 24 weeks 5 days, weighing 890 grams (2lb) - 123 days before going home for the first time. 

Volunteers often provide morning teas and lunches for parents of premature babies in New Zealand – but the morning teas being held to mark World Prematurity Day on 17 November will be a little different.  
Neil O’Styke, Executive Director of The Neonatal Trust, which is supporting World Prematurity Day in New Zealand, said: “On 17 November teams will be organising morning teas for the fantastic and dedicated staff in every Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) as well as the families in the units on this day”. 

“Each year, over 5,000 premature babies and their families make the journey through neonatal intensive care in this country.  World Prematurity Day is a chance to celebrate our premature babies and raise awareness of the challenges they and their families face.” 
 
The Neonatal Trust provides support for families with babies in a neonatal unit. This includes helping in practical ways by providing information, purchasing or contributing to the cost of equipment and also providing emotional and other support in order to ‘make a difficult start to life a little bit easier’. Examples include: https://goo.gl/O69Lpc   

It also provides support for parents of premature babies. Mr O’Styke said one of the most regular and popular support events is hosting lunches and morning teas for parents with babies currently in a NICU.  

“These are an opportunity to provide necessary information and support, as well as a way to create support networks amongst parents,” he said. 

“Part of our celebration of World Prematurity Day is co-ordinating volunteers to organise morning tea for each Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and special care baby unit (SCBU). This is both for the families of babies in the units and also those who look after those precious babies.” 

The Trust receives no government funding and so relies on the generosity of the New Zealand community to continue providing the support that they do. If you would like to donate, please visit https://www.neonataltrust.org.   
 
ENDS 

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