Informal meeting on provision of home-based care to mother and child in the first week after birth

Preterm birth is the world's largest killer of newborn babies, causing more than one million deaths each year, yet 75% could be saved without expensive, high technology care. That's the primary message and motivating theme of World Prematurity Day, 17 November, a global effort to raise awareness of the deaths and disabilities due to prematurity and the simple, proven, cost-effective measures that could prevent them.

• Read the news release on World Prematurity Day

Globally, about one quarter of all neonatal deaths are caused by birth asphyxia - the failure to initiate and sustain breathing at birth. Effective resuscitation at birth can prevent a large proportion of these deaths. These updated WHO guidelines aim to ensure that newborns in resource-limited settings who require resuscitation are effectively resuscitated. They will also assist programme managers responsible for implementing maternal and child health programmes to develop or adapt national or local guidelines, standards and training materials on newborn care.

• Read the updated guidelines on basic newborn resuscitation

A new report provides the first-ever national, regional and global estimates of preterm birth. The report shows the extent to which preterm birth is on the rise in most countries, and is now the second leading cause of death globally for children under five, after pneumonia.

Addressing preterm birth is now an urgent priority for reaching Millennium Development Goal 4, calling for the reduction of child deaths by two-thirds by 2015. This report shows that rapid change is possible and identifies priority actions for everyone.