World Prematurity Day: Ensuring every mother is healthy and every baby is born on time in Mali

Have you ever seen a just-born premature baby? Don’t worry, most people haven’t. I can tell you they’re generally no bigger than the size of a tissue box, limbs included. Everything you might already think is small and precious about a full-term baby, is even smaller, more fragile and more frightening to touch in a premature baby. And their risk for infection, disease, disability and complications in development are much higher. The truth is, premature births are largely preventable if we address major risk factors. Yet, each year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm around the world, with the lion’s share in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.