Data from the federally-funded Every Week Counts national pre-term birth prevention collaborative suggests it has prevented about 4,000 babies from being born early since 2021.
The federally-funded Every Week Counts program says its work has seen an estimated 4,000 babies prevented from being born too early since 2021.
A preterm birth is one that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and early term birth is one that occurs between 37 and 39 weeks of pregnancy – and the Every Week Counts program aims to reduce the rate of both. And APBPA deputy chair Professor Jonathan Morris said recent data from the federally-funded program suggested early term birth rates had reduced by at least 10 per cent.
Ms Walsh said before Connor and Heidi's birth she had no idea what a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was.Now almost seven years old, Heidi is vibrant and energetic – and to her parents she's "a total miracle". Women's Healthcare Australasia chief executive Barb Vernon said the methodology involved setting an overall target – in this case reducing premature births – and then helping healthcare workers across multiple hospitals design how to best achieve that goal locally.
"Whether it's their electronic medical record, their booking process for an induction, the way they communicate with women during pregnancy and the information they might give women to make informed decisions. "The advice that is being given to women as part of this work is that they should be seeking to have a cervix length measurement taken when they have their mid-pregnancy scan," she said.