MONTHLY EDUCATION INITIATIVE

November is Prematurity Awareness Month

About 1 in 10 babies are born preterm, or before completing the normal 37 to 40 weeks of pregnancy. These babies miss out on the important growth and development that happens in the final weeks. Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant mortality. Babies who survive can have short- and long-term health problems.

November is National Prematurity Awareness Month, an opportunity to reflect on the nearly 400,000 babies born preterm each year in the United States and what we can do to prevent it.

It’s encouraging that the national rate of preterm birth declined 8 percent between 2007 and 2014. A CDC analysis published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) attributes some of that decline to successful teen pregnancy prevention. While rates of preterm birth declined for women of all ages between those years, the declines in births to teens and women ages 20 to 24 had the biggest impact on the overall decline. Preventing teen pregnancy is a CDC priority and a “double win”—by preventing it, we also reduce the number of babies born too soon.

*Source: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/s1103-prematurity-awareness.html