More than 1 million babies born prematurely die each year before they are a month old, according to the first comprehensive global report on premature births. The situation could worsen if the rate of premature births increases.
Each year, 12.9 million infants are born before 37 weeks of development in the womb. More than 85 percent of the premature births occur in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
One way to prevent many of these tragedies from occurring would be increased sun exposure for pregnant women and infants. Powerful new evidence has demonstrated that vitamin D can reduce the risk of premature births and boost the health of newborn babies.
Mothers in a study who were given ten times the usual dose of vitamin D during pregnancy had their risk of premature birth reduced by half, and had fewer small babies. The vitamin’s benefits have been observed previously in uncontrolled studies of pregnant women and babies, but this was the first time the benefits were demonstrated in a carefully controlled scientific trial.