Overview
- Peru’s Health Ministry reports 29,556 premature births so far in 2025, noting higher survival in Lima and other developed cities with specialized neonatal services.
- WHO estimates about 15 million preterm births each year and roughly one million related deaths, with up to 75% preventable through quality prenatal, delivery and postnatal care.
- Argentina recorded a 9.5% prematurity rate in 2023 (about 44,000 births), with experts stressing that discharge begins a long care pathway requiring coordinated follow‑up.
- Clinicians underscore “minute‑zero” quality care, skin‑to‑skin contact and human milk feeding, alongside multidisciplinary monitoring to reduce complications and support development.
- Hospitals and families marked the week with advocacy and support initiatives, from Cusco’s newly inaugurated ‘Pasillo de la Esperanza’ to Spanish calls for more neonatal speech therapists and extended follow‑up staffing.