November 17 is World Prematurity Day. According to the WHO every year an estimated 15 million babies are born premature or preterm and over 1 million babies die due to preterm birth complications. Premature births are in fact the leading cause of death in newborn babies and the second leading cause of death for children under five after pneumonia. Causes of preterm births They are mostly due to early induction of labour or caesarean birth. Multiple pregnancies infections early adolescent pregnancies diabetes and high blood pressure are believed to be responsible for preterm births though no medical consensus has been