Beatrice backs premature birth research campaign

Princess Beatrice has said helping raise awareness of the urgent need for more research into prematurity has become “incredibly close and personal” after the early birth of her daughter.

Beatrice, 37, the eldest daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced former Duke of York and the King’s brother, is fronting a campaign for the premature birth research charity Borne.

Ahead of World Prematurity Day on November 17, Beatrice said: “The work that Borne is undertaking is something that is incredibly close and personal to me following the birth of my daughter.

“Every year in the UK, 60,000 babies are delivered too soon, with little information or research as to why this is. That is why I am really looking forward to supporting Borne and its programme of groundbreaking research, which I hope will help thousands of parents and children in the future.”

Her daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, was born several weeks premature on January 22.

Beatrice was due to give birth in early spring, and in December received medical advice not to travel long distances.

She joined the royal family at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day after changing her travel plans from spending the festive period overseas, with doctors said to have warned that a premature arrival was a possibility.

Globally, 15 million babies arrive too soon each year and complications from prematurity remain the leading cause of neonatal death and lifelong disability.

Yet, less than 2% of medical research funding is dedicated to pregnancy and childbirth, Borne also states.

The Borne campaign’s message “every week counts”, highlighting the need to keep the baby in the womb to term, was used at an event attended by supporters, researchers and families, hosted by Beatrice on Tuesday at London’s Battersea Power Station.

The charity is also to release a podcast episode, featuring Beatrice, meteorologist Laura Tobin and Borne founder Professor Mark Johnson, on the charity’s work, on Monday.

Beatrice, who is a patron of Borne, and Tobin visited the charity’s research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Borne chief executive David Badcock said: “Her support helps raise awareness of the urgent need for more research into prematurity, an area that has for too long been underfunded and underexplored.

“At Borne we believe that every week counts and, by investing in science today, we can transform the outcomes for families tomorrow.”