There are between 2,500 and 3,500 preterm births in Croatia every year and the number is increasing, although mortality is down, a ceremony marking World Prematurity Day was told at Zagreb's Sisters of Charity Hospital on Friday.

The aim of marking this day in Croatia is to raise awareness of the risks and challenges faced by preterm babies, who need intensive care, and their families.

“The number of preterm babies is not falling, but rising… Nowadays couples decide on reproduction increasingly late, and the more advanced age of women in relation to past years contributes to the rise in preterm births,” said Krunoslav Kuna, head of the hospital’s clinic for women’s diseases and maternity.

Last year 3,010 children were born at Sisters of Charity Hospital, including 220 preterm births.