Most Deaths of Newborns Preventable

Four million newborns die every year but three-quarters of them could easily be saved, researchers said Thursday.

Most of the deaths occur in 10 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and are caused by infections, prematurity and breathing problems related to birth complications.

“If you look across 23 nations of Western Europe, there are 4 million births every year,” said Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal Lancet. “So the annual global neonatal mortality is equivalent to all newly born babies in Western Europe being entirely wiped out.

“That equals 10,000 to 11,000 deaths per day ... up to three-quarters of which are entirely unnecessary and preventable,” he told a news conference.

In a series of reports on newborn deaths in the journal, scientists and health experts show where and why the deaths occur, how they could be prevented and how much it would cost.

They estimate that an extra $4.1 billion per year beyond the current spending of $2 billion would be needed to provide simple health treatment for 90% of those at risk in 75 countries with the highest mortality rates.

Most newborns who die do so in the first week of life. Most are born at home. Two-thirds of the deaths occur in India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Congo, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Tanzania.

“The plight of newborns is not just a medical issue, it is also a moral barometer of our times, a measure of our values and our feelings for others,” Horton said.

Gary Darmstadt of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Maryland, an author of one of the studies, said measures such as tetanus vaccinations for pregnant women and antibiotics for newborns could save lives.

Zulfiqar Bhutta of Aga Khan University in Pakistan said low-cost, low-tech interventions could be delivered at birth and afterward to prevent 3 million of the 4 million deaths.