Infant mortality is increasing in Romania – Premature children need support

Infant mortality is increasing in Romania: from 5.5‰ in 2020 to 5.6‰ in 2021, according to INSP data. In 2021, being born prematurely represented, for 421 deaths, their determining factor. Infant deaths mainly occur in the first month of life (57%). A good part of deaths under the age of 1 occur at home, and most children die without medical assistance for the disease causing death.

The most frequent causes of infant death are perinatal conditions (38.8%), followed by diseases of the nervous system (25%) and diseases associated with the respiratory system (approx. 22%).

The World Day of the Premature Child is celebrated worldwide, on November 17, every year, on which occasion information, education and awareness actions are carried out on this issue of children’s health both by parents’ organizations and by medical personnel and authorities with duties in the management of this field.

Starting with the year 2020, Romania celebrates Premature Child Day on November 17, established at legislative level precisely to mark the importance of this field, an occasion on which non-governmental organizations, hospitals and local authorities in Romania carry out thematic events and activities to raise public opinion on the increased attention we must pay to these children, as well as on the need to adopt public policies to reduce the still high rates of infant mortality that Romania records.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) communicated by the World Health Organization propose stopping the number of preventable deaths in newborns and children under 5 years of age, so that countries reach a neonatal mortality rate of 12 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. If every country met or exceeded this target, 8 million under-5 deaths could be avoided between 2021 and 2030 globally. Achieving high coverage of quality prenatal care, skilled birth care, postnatal care for mother and child, and newborn care can significantly reduce infant mortality rates.

According to the World Health Organization, prematurity, asphyxia, infections and other conditions at birth and in the first 28 days of life are the main causes of death among children under 5 years old.

Every year, worldwide, it is estimated that 15 million children, that is more than 1 in 10, are born prematurely, and this number is increasing.