Contact: Elizabeth Lynch
elynch@marchofdimes.com
914-997-4286
March of Dimes Foundation

US Map of Preterm Birth Rates, 2006

Caption: Nearly 543,000 babies were born too soon in 2006, according to new government statistics release Wednesday. The nation's preterm birth rate (birth before 37 completed weeks gestation) rose to 12.8 percent in 2006 -- that’s a 36 percent increase since the early 1980s.

Credit: March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center

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Related news release: Preterm births rise 36 percent since early 1980s