15 million babies are born prematurely each year around the globe. The United States fared badly in the first country-to-country comparison.
A study by the World
Health Organization, Save the Children and hundreds of other child and health
related organizations suggests a variety of factors are causing premature
births in America.
Too many American women have health problems like
obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking. Other factors include
teen pregnancy or women older than 35 giving birth to twins or triplets after in
vitro fertilization.
Another issue is many women who lack health insurance
aren't seeing doctors early in their pregnancies, when problems like high blood
pressure or genital infections can be treated.
