According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, preterm birth affects more than 500,000 infants—that's one of every eight infants born in the United States.1 The rate of preterm births has increased by 36% since the early 1980s.2
Going into preterm labor does not always mean that a pregnant woman will have a preterm infant. Up to half of the women who experience preterm labor eventually deliver at a normal 37 weeks or later.3
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Preterm birth. Retrieved April 18, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/PretermBirth.htm [top]
- Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Menacker, F., et al. (2008, January 7). Births: Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 7, 1–102. Retrieved April 18, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf (PDF - 1.41 MB) [top]
- Berghella, V., Hayes, E., Visintine, J., & Baxter, J. K. (2008, October 8). Fetal fibronectin testing for reducing the risk of preterm birth. Retrieved April 18, 2012, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006843.pub2/abstract [top]