Target for cutting premature birth rate will not be met, says patient safety minister

Goal of reducing rate of preterm births – when babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy – to 6% was set in 2019

The women’s health minister has admitted there is no chance the government will meet its target of reducing the premature birth rate to 6% by 2025.

Preterm birth – when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy – is the biggest cause of death among children under five in the UK. The previous government set a target in 2019 to reduce the preterm birth rate to 6% by 2025.