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GAPPS In the News

Shining A Light on the Global Preterm Birth Crisis
Impatient Optimists, May 2, 2012

Premature birth happens every day—frequently with devastating consequences—and yet we know very little about the causes or how to prevent it. I was one of the broad array of experts who contributed to the recent report Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, which featured the first-ever country-level estimates of preterm birth, and the statistics paint a grim picture.

The Cost of Premature Birth: For One U.S. Family, It Was More than $2 Million
TIME, May 2, 2012

A new report released Wednesday finds that 15 million babies worldwide are born prematurely each year. Implementing every known method of preventing preterm birth would only prevent 8% of these early deliveries, according to Craig Rubens, executive director of GAPPS.
 

Seattle Children’s Sets Up Rare Biobank to Study Premature Birth
Xconomy, March 14, 2012

Money may be the key fuel that drives biomedical research, but even if you’ve got money, it’s hard to get very far without good tissue samples. Now a group at Seattle Children’s Hospital aims to tackle that problem by setting up an unusual biobank of specimens, open to scientists all over the world, which could become a gold mine for discoveries about premature birth and newborn health.
 

Pregnant women may help researchers find answer to prematurity
KING 5 News, Jan. 31, 2012

You expect the arrival of a newborn to be a precious time. For too many mothers the anticipation is shattered by unexpected preterm birth. Dr. Rubens is Executive Director of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth, or GAPPS. He said better nutrition, prenatal care, and limiting infections can make a difference. But there is much more to learn. His research team believes the GAPPS repository of tissue samples they are collecting from pregnant women will yield clues.

A Big First Step for Tiny Babies
Reuters AlertNet, Nov. 17, 2011

Preterm birth is now the leading cause of newborn death around the world and takes the lives of more infants than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined. It is encouraging that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced Grand Challenges: Preventing Preterm Birth. The program, stewarded by the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children’s, is aimed at discovering new interventions and solutions to prevent premature labor and birth.

Heroic Mother Speaks Out
ABC News Million Moms Challenge, Nov. 10, 2011

I didn’t realize how perfectly my first pregnancy and delivery had gone until I almost died giving birth to my second child. Instead of another “seamless” pregnancy, I suffered complications at 31 weeks.  As a result, my pregnancy ended way too soon – cut short by an emergency Caesarean section. I share my story through my blog and by participating in the Tiny Footprints Guild, which supports the important work GAPPS does.

Gates Foundation awards $20M for premature birth research
Puget Sound Business Journal, Nov. 7, 2011

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is awarding $20 million to Seattle Children’s Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) initiative. The money will go toward the Preventing Preterm Birth initiative, which will focus on finding new interventions to prevent premature birth and stillbirth by limiting infection and improving nutrition.

Gates Foundation pledges $20 million to stop premature births
KOMO News, Nov. 7, 2011

Queen Anne’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is sending $20 million to Seattle Children’s Hospital to research premature births and work toward a solution for what is described as the leading cause of death for newborns. The money will be used by Children’s Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) initiative.

Preventing Preterm Birth Is Long Overdue
Impatient Optimists, Nov. 7, 2011

I was born on December 25th, more than a month before expected, as a surprise “Christmas present” for my family. Like many preterm babies, I was small and had trouble breathing on my own. That’s why I’m excited that the Gates Foundation is teaming up with the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS).

A Baby Step Forward
Healthy Newborn Network, Nov. 7, 2011

This week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new Grand Challenges in Global Health program – Preventing Preterm Birth. The Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children’s, was awarded a $20 million grant to lead a global effort to increase the chances of healthy pregnancies and births.

Experts gather in Seattle to tackle the rise in premature births
Seattle Times, May 9, 2009

The health problems of rich and poor countries are often very different, but premature birth is a plague that strikes women around the world. "It happens to women in Seattle and Sri Lanka," said Dr. Craig Rubens, of Seattle Children's hospital and executive director of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth, or GAPPS.