National Preterm Birth Prevention Collaborative

Each year in Australia, one in 12 pregnancies end too early and more than 26,000 babies are born too soon. Preterm and early term birth can significantly increase poorer outcomes for babies.

Nevertheless, in Australia planning an early birth without medical or obstetric indication is becoming more common, and it’s happening earlier in pregnancy. Pregnant women may not be aware of the benefits of continuing their pregnancy until 39 weeks if there is no medical need for an earlier birth.

In 2014, the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance (APBPA) reduced preterm birth in Western Australia through a campaign promoting seven clinical interventions.

In this initiative, we partnered with the APBPA, Women’s Healthcare Australasia and the Institute of Healthcare Improvement to build on the APBPA’s campaign. We focused on the importance of continuing a pregnancy to 39 weeks gestation when medically appropriate and identification of ways to ensure everyone involved in planning a birth has access to information and support for shared decision making. We look forward to sharing the results of this project in the near future.