The number of babies being born prematurely is on the increase, and so is their chance of surviving. Jessica Salter discovers how advances in neonatal care ??and sandwich bags ??are giving hope to even the tiniest newborns In 1974 the outlook for a baby born before 26 weeks ??two thirds of the way through a normal pregnancy ??was poor. ??hey almost certainly wouldn?? have survived,??Dr Mike Smith, a paediatric consultant who started working with premature babies that year, says. Before 1995 evidence about the survival and care of premature babies was ??like this ??largely anecdotal. Then a groundbreaking study called EPICure recorded all births in the UK between 20 and 25 weeks, six days. Out of 4,001 births, the first EPICure study (another study took place in 2006 and the latest, following the original children, now aged 19, is due to be finished next year) found that 311 babies survived and were eventually discharged, including two babies born at 22 weeks, six at 23 weeks, 100 at 24 weeks and 186 babies at 25. The study concluded that babies born before 24 weeks who survived were still ??nusual??

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