Word: preterm
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...biggest contributor to the high premature birth rate is the rate of so-called late-preterm births. About 70% of babies born too early in the U.S. are born between 34 and 37 weeks. There are many reasons for these early deliveries, making it particularly difficult to target one or even a few factors and address them head-on. The increase in multiples - twins, triplets or more - is one contributor. The rise in assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization, is another; these techniques are associated with both an increased risk of multiples as well as a higher risk...
...factors, there are encouraging signs that things are moving in the right direction. In 33 states, the percentage of women who smoked dropped from last year; the percentage of insured women of childbearing age with health insurance increased in 21 states; and in a quarter of states, the late-preterm birth rate declined since...
Most of these scheduled deliveries occur after 37 weeks and are therefore not considered preterm; however, it is not clear what proportion of late-preterm births, occurring between 34 and 37 weeks, are due to C-sections that are elected for nonmedical reasons...
...more pressing problem, however, is addressing preterm births that occur because of poor prenatal care, says Riley. The rate of these avoidable early births are highest among non-Hispanic African-American women in the U.S. "No matter what year you look at, these women are at the top of the graph," she says. "We haven't made much progress there...
...there may be solutions that physicians could begin implementing today to the problem of preterm births among these populations. A drug known as 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone, for example, has been shown to reduce the rate of premature birth in women who have previously had high-risk pregnancies or unexplained early births. On the fertility front, transferring fewer embryos for each pregnancy cycle could help lower the multiple-gestation rate and thereby bring down the risk of premature births. Educating women about the importance of a full-term pregnancy and the risk factors that are associated with premature births is also...