Did You Know?
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice on health issues to policymakers, healthcare professionals, consumers, and the private sector.
In July 2006, the IOM published a Report Brief entitled, Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention, presenting statistics about the increasing rate of preterm birth in the United States. As of 2004, the rate of preterm birth was 12.5% of live births in the US---a far cry from the Healthy People 2010 goals of a preterm birth rate of 7.6 %. The report also shows the racial and ethnic disparities of preterm births from 1992-2003. African-American women have the highest rate of preterm birth (17.8% in 2003) compared to the rate for white women (11.5% in 2003).
The section entitled: Consequences and Costs of Preterm Birth discusses the major complications, both short and long term, of being born preterm. The annual societal economic burden of preterm births in the US is a minimum of $26.2 billion in 2005. This section explains the amounts spent on medical care (in early childhood), early intervention and special education services due to the 4 major disabling conditions: Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, Vision Impairment, and Hearing Loss.
Recommendations for future research foci are enumerated.
Copies of the report brief and /or the entire text are available at The National Academies Press .