More local mothers having premature babies

Studies show that Hong Kong’s preterm births are rising and women getting pregnant older and stress at work is to blame.

Preterm babes are those delivered two to three weeks before the full term. In Hong Kong in 2012, preterm births reached 7.3 percent, higher than the mainland at 7.1 percent, Japan at 5.9 percent and South Korea at 4.9 percent.

In 2012, 67 in every 1,000 women having babes were over the age of 35, double the figure in 2001 which was 34. The median age of women to have the first child has sprung from 25-years-old in 1981 to 30 in 2012, reports The Standard.

Photo: Nicholas Wang, Flickr




BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
YouTube video
Subscribe on