ABSTRACT:
Prematurity is a major factor leading to feeding and swallowing issues and may be further complicated by insults to the developing nervous system or the challenging environment of the NICU. (Steven M. Barlow, Meredith A. Poore, Emily A. Zimmerman, and Don S. Finan) Preterm birth as an emerging problem Kounteya Sinha, (2012), Nearly 24%, or one in four children born prematurely across the globe in 2010 were from India. India recorded the highest number of births of preemies, or babies born before time, at 35.19 lakh children in 2010. Almost 13% of all children born in India were born too soon, while China ranked second, However, China's preterm birth rate was 7.8% of the global count, with 11.72 lakh children born preterm. Besides, China recorded 23 lakh fewer preterm births than India. Preterm birth (before 37 weeks gestation) remains the single biggest cause of neonatal death worldwide and is now the second most common cause of death among under-five children, and is responsible for 1.1 million deaths every year. World Health Organization,( 2012), published the report "Born Too Soon", to be announced by the British medical journal the Lancet, says nearly 15 million babies were born prematurely in 2010 — more than one in 10 of all births.