The twins are in a stable condition. (Photo: Suckhoedoisong.vn)

The twins, one boy and one girl, were born on May 16 to a mother infected with COVID-19 in Hanoi’s district of Ung Hoa.

As of Monday, the girl weighed 3.1kg and the boy, 3.6kg, the hospital said on Wednesday. Both are now in a stable condition. The hospital’s Center for Neonatal Care successfully cared for the twins, according to Director Le Minh Trac.

Statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation), and this number is rising.

More than three quarters of premature babies can be saved with feasible, cost-effective care, such as essential care during childbirth and in the postnatal period, provision of antenatal steroid injections (given to pregnant women at risk of preterm labour and under set criteria to strengthen the babies’ lungs), kangaroo mother care (the baby is carried by the mother with skin-to-skin contact and frequent breastfeeding), and antibiotics to treat newborn infections.

For example, continuity of midwifery-led care in settings where there are effective midwifery services has been shown to reduce the risk of prematurity by around 24%.