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UK Wedding News

15/11/2013

Boys Are More Likely To Be Born Premature

New research has suggested that boys are more likely to be born premature than girls.

It is thought boys are 14% more likely to be delivered early, and statistics revealed that in 2012, 34,400 boys were born before 37 weeks in the UK, compared to 28,700 girls.

The new figures added that boys are also more likely to suffer death and disability as a result of being born premature.

Neonatologist and epidemiologist, Professor Joy Lawn, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who led the study, explained: "Baby boys have a higher likelihood of infections, jaundice, birth complications, and congenital conditions but the biggest risk for baby boys is due to pre-term birth.

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"For two babies born at the same degree of prematurity, a boy will have a higher risk of death and disability compared to a girl.

"Even in the womb, girls mature more rapidly than boys, which provides an advantage because the lungs and other organs are more developed.

"One partial explanation for more pre-term births among boys is that women pregnant with a boy are more likely to have placental problems, pre-eclampsia, and high blood pressure - all associated with pre-term births."

Professor Lawn added that the studies found higher rates of disability in boys across a range of health problems, including cerebral palsy, blindness and visual impairment.

"If you are born premature, even that little difference in maturity between girls and boys can make a big difference – particularly in breathing complications for boys."

The research involved a global study on premature birth, which the experts said was a major problem around the world.

Within the UK, the rate of premature birth currently stands at 7.8%, and there are 1,300 deaths due to complications from premature birth each year in the country, mostly among babies born under 28 weeks.

Globally, the studies published in the journal Paediatric Research, revealed that of the 15.1 million babies born too soon, one million died due to prematurity.

(JP/CD)

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"New research has suggested that boys are more likely to be born premature than girls."