More than 7% of Western Australian babies are born prematurely (before completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy). This represents about 2,000 of Western Australia’s 25,000 annual births.

In Australia, more than 20,000 babies are born prematurely each year. In recent years there has been a worrying trend for the rates of preterm birth, in Western Australia and around the world, to increase. Fortunately, care of pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery, and of their babies, means that for most of them there are no concerning effects in the long-term. However, for those babies born very early, a variety of illnesses threaten their immediate survival and their wellbeing throughout life.

WIRF researchers are studying many of the causes and consequences of preterm birth, hoping to make preterm birth safer for babies and, ultimately, to reduce the rates of preterm birth.

The most immediate problem facing premature babies is breathing. Before birth, babies’ lungs are full of liquid and they rely on the placenta, and their mother, to make sure they have enough oxygen.

Babies’ lungs only become fully mature and ready to breathe air very late in gestation, in preparation for birth at the end of a normal length pregnancy (37 - 42 weeks). This means that the lungs of many preterm babies are not developed enough to allow them to breathe without some sort of assistance.

There are treatments that can be given to women at risk of preterm birth, that induce early maturation of their babies’ lungs before birth, to reduce the likelihood of their babies having problems breathing. However, for reasons that are not understood, these treatments do not work all the time. WIRF researchers, in collaboration with international experts from overseas, are studying new ways of inducing the early maturation of preterm babies’ lungs before they are born.