The Thousand Grams of Dignity exhibition visits Sanitas' La Moraleja and La Zarzuela university hospitals.

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Sanitas Hospitals centres welcome the exhibition to bring the population closer to the world of prematurity on World Prematurity Day.The exhibition will be available in the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Moraleja for two weeks from 17 November.The Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Zarzuela will welcome the exhibition from 8 December.

From tomorrow, Tuesday, 17 November, the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Moraleja will welcome the "Thousand Grams of Dignity" travelling exhibition, to coincide with World Prematurity Day in order to raise awareness among the population of the reality of premature births. The official opening of the exhibition will take place on Tuesday, 17 November at 11 am. This exhibition will be transferred two weeks later to the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Zarzuela. The specialists of the Paediatrics departments of both centres have coordinated the materials of the exhibition and its scientific content. This initiative has been developed thanks to the collaboration of the companies Linde, Toys”R”us, Kiddy, Mitosyl and Chiesi.

A premature birth is considered to be any birth which takes place before week 37 of pregnancy, and all births in which the newborn weighs 1,000 grams or less are considered extremely premature. In Spain, it is calculated that the number of premature births each year oscillates between 8 and 10 percent of the total.

For the medical director of the Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja, Manuel Castrillo Tambay, "this type of initiative is fundamental for the population to appreciate the reality of families with babies born prematurely. This exhibition gives generic information on the birth and care of children born early: What is premature birth? How does it happen? What are the survival rates and admission periods? What are the possible complications and consequences? The neonatal ICU, kangaroo mother care, breastfeeding and home care for premature babies".

Thus, patients, family members and visitors to the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Moraleja will be able to discover the reality of these babies in greater depth.

From 8 December, the exhibition can be visited in the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Zarzuela. "It is very rewarding for us to be able to communicate the situations in which families and healthcare professionals are immersed on a day-to-day basis", stated Juan Carlos Fuertes, medical director of the Hospital Universitario Sanitas La Zarzuela. This centre has a High Risk Obstetrics Unit with the capacity to deal with premature births of all categories. "Every year we provide care for around 10 births that take place before week 34 and around 3 births that take place in week 28 of pregnancy", indicated Dr Fuertes.

About prematurity: A normal pregnancy lasts between 37 and 42 weeks, with an average of 40 weeks. Children born within this period are considered born at full term (their formation is complete), and it is the appropriate moment for their birth. If the birth occurs before week 37 of pregnancy, the child has been born early and therefore is premature. This means that the baby is "immature", born before their organs have completely matured. In Spain, the prematurity rate is 7.5-8% of all newborns, of which 3-3.5% are born before 28 weeks, corresponding to some 1,000 children a year.

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