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Article: Epidemiology of preterm birth and its clinical subtypes
- Article from:
- Journal of Maternal - Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Taylor & Francis Ltd. Dec 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract
Preterm birth (<37 weeks) complicates 12.5% of all deliveries in the USA, and remains the leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, accounting for as many as 75% of perinatal deaths. Despite the recent temporal increase in preterm birth, efforts to understand the problem of prematurity have met with little success. This may be attributable to the under-appreciation of the etiologic heterogeneity of preterm birth as well as the heterogeneity in its underlying clinical presentations-spontaneous onset of labor, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and medically indicated preterm birth. In this paper, we review data regarding preterm births with particular focus on its ...