MT Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, wife of the governor of Kebbi State, said that Nigeria ranks third among the top 10 countries with the highest rate of premature births with 773,600 cases.
Dr. Shinkafi-Bagudu, who revealed this information in Abuja during an advocacy visit from the National Association of Pediatric Nurses of Nigeria (NANPAN), revealed that these statistics come from the latest data from the World Health Organization. health (WHO).
The governor’s wife disapproved of the ranking, lamenting that many premature deaths often occur because of the lack of sophisticated equipment to provide proper baby care.
“Prematurity is the leading cause of neonatal death in the world and if we can save some of these babies, we will certainly have more economic impact on our country.”
“The human and material resources devoted to the premature birth and death of babies every year are enormous and we can fix them,” she said.
A birth is considered premature when it occurs before the 37 th week of pregnancy.
Several factors can influence the risk of giving birth prematurely:
- the age of the mother;
- have already given birth prematurely;
- maternal infections;
- blood pressure problems and diabetes related to pregnancy;
- some problems with the baby (stunting, malformation)
- the number of babies expected;
- premature dilatation of the cervix;
- certain habits of life in pregnant women (smoking, alcohol, drugs).
