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Hello, I'm Susan Hume and this is the Today in Parliament podcast for Friday the 6th of June.

Coming up, peers call for more effort to reduce preterm births with one heartfelt story of a granddaughter born too soon.

She has no memory of what happened, but she would not be with us without every single one of the professionals who were there for her.

Also, evidence that the abuse and intimidation of MPs and candidates is putting people off standing for election.

It can be quite frightening to be followed on the street

because that means that the abuser knows where do you live,

where do you work, perhaps details about your family.

And how excited are you by electricity transmission networks?

I can understand why people glaze over, but it is actually desperately important.

But first, peers have called for better research into how to reduce the and why people glaze over, but it is actually desperately important.

But first, peers have called for better research into how to reduce the incidence of preterm births in the UK. They were debating a report from a Lord's Inquiry, which also called for

better facilities for parents in neonatal units and better follow-up for babies born early.

Babies are considered to be pre-term if they're born before 37 weeks gestation.

The independent peer Lord Patel, who was an obstetrician for 39 years,

said that even if babies survived, they could sustain long-term health problems and disabilities.

I sadly have to say that I delivered my godsonate 26 weeks.

He's 54 years old who's severely handicapped.

I also delivered 10 years later a young preterm baby who weighed exactly 600 grams.

That baby, he said, had grown up to graduate with two degrees in law.

But while survival rates had improved, there had been no improvement in the health outcomes

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