Some States Have More Premature Babies Than Others

by Mary Ann Romans

preemie A new report shows that the odds of you having a premature baby depend on the state in which you live. The report was issued by the March of Dimes organization which tracked premature births and gave a report card on the disparity of premature births by state.

For example, the states with the lowest incidence of premature births tend to be up north. In Vermont, a woman is least likely to have a premature baby. Only 9 percent of all births are premature. Oregon and Connecticut also have low rates of premature births.

When you move down further south of the country, those number rise dramatically. There are a whopping 18.8 percent of premature births in Mississippi, the worst state in the union for premature birth rates. West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina and Louisiana also have large percentages of premature births.

Overall in this country about one in eight babies is born premature. Prematurity can result in all sorts of conditions and medical issues, from learning disorders to death.

While prematurity is not well understood, the report does give three factors that may play a role in the difference in the premature birth rates across the states:

Lack of insurance leading to lack of prenatal care. Risks for preterm labor can offen be identity and treatment given to women who are at risk.

Smoking. There is a higher incidence of smoking in some of the states that also have the higher premature birth rates. Overall, the report estimates that 17 percent of all pregnant women smoke.

Scheduled C-sections. C-sections may purposely be scheduled ahead of full term (for example to avoid having a large baby), or they may be scheduled without a good understanding of the age of the fetus.

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Most of premature babies born in Africa and Asia

It seems that Africa and Asia are highly popular range of diseases and epidemics, and children born prematurely, these statistics show that most of the global preterm infants are born in Asia and Africa.

Geneva - The existence of glaring disparities between developing and developed countries in the opportunities for survival of preterm infants.

Nearly 13 million children are born prematurely across the world each year, according to the first global view of preterm birth, which was published today in the International Journal of Public Health, WHO Bulletin.

Most of premature babies born in Africa and Asia "Nearly 11 million of these babies are born prematurely in Africa and Asia, where many do not have access to effective care," says lead author Dr. Lal say, from the Ministry of Reproductive Health and Research World Health Organization.

"A child weighing less than 2000g (born in about 32 weeks of pregnancy) has little chance of survival if born in a developing country," says Say. "On the other hand, born in 32 weeks in developed countries, the chances of survival and a similar one was born in full term."

An average of 10% of births in all parts of the world that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy, in other words is premature, although this rate varies between 3.8% for countries in Central Asia and 17.5% in South Africa. When comparing the high-income areas and North America to have a higher percentage than that (10.6%) of the premature birth of Europe (6.2%).

"Given the enormous increase in premature births over the past 20 years is shown in countries with reliable data, premature birth remains a major health problem. Improve access to effective health care, particularly in developing countries, and must remain a priority ", says Dr. Say.

*And here comes "The question what are the real reasons behind the birth of children prematurely, and whether the scientists have all the facts causing the problem?