Reality check

It's time for a reality check. Everyone who has experienced life in the NICU with a premature baby knows about the frustrations...insufficient staff...transfers miles from home...concerns over the state of the equipment...getting the correct medication at the correct time...I needn't go on. It all pales into insignificance though, when premature baby care in the developing world is considered. Currently in Haiti for example (as of Jan 17th), there appeared to be one hospital only. Setup by Israeli aid, the hospital does include incubators for preemies, but clearly the facilities are limited. [Update: 20th Jan. Haaretz.com is reporting the delivery of a preemie in Haiti by Israeli medical staff, in addition to the treatment of another sick baby]

The March of Dimes has donated $100 000 to UNICEF for mothers and babies in Haiti.



Even without terrible earthquakes, the developing world is a bad place to be a preemie. A recent report by the March of Dimes and WHO estimates that 13 million premature babies are born each year. An astonishing 11 million of them in Asia and Africa - compared to around half a million in each of the USA (incl. Canada) and Europe. Globally, the rate of premature births is increasing (reasons are not entirely clear, but include assisted reproduction, increased age of mothers, earlier Caesarians and in Africa, the lack of drugs to treat infection during pregnancy and drugs to prolong pregnancies), and starts at a higher rate in Africa (approx. 12% of all births, compared with 6% in Europe).

Perhaps not surprisingly, in addition to the higher rate of premature births, survival rates are lower in developing countries, partly due to the greater prevalence in general of diseases such as malaria, but also due to the lower levels of care available. For example, as reported in the East African paper, whilst babies born at 32 weeks in developed countries stand almost as good a chance as term babies of survival, those in the developing world stand little chance of survival.

As I have said many times on this blog, we are incredibly lucky. We had a premature baby born in the UK, endured a 3 month 'nightmare' in the NICU of two well equipped (by global standards) hospitals and brought home our little fella close to his due date. He will always be a preemie, but on the whole, he is now a happy little 2 year old boy and gradually is leaving consultants behind. I know others aren't so lucky and you truly have my admiration for how you continue to cope. In the grand scheme of things though, the NHS or the US health system doesn't do bad.