Preventing preterm birth: are we making any progress?
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: Most industrialized countries have reported recent decreases in the size of infants born at term but no reduction, or even a rise in the incidence of preterm birth. This paper reviews recent secular trends in preterm birth and the evidence about possible reasons for those trends. The hypothesized reasons include ignorance about the causal determinants of preterm birth, failure to reduce exposure to recognized determinants, increases in multiple births, the use of early ultrasound (rather than menstrual dates) to estimate gestational age, early induction or cesarean section for pregnancy complications, and registration of extremely immature births of borderline viability.
Source: PubMed Central
Author: M S Kramer
Institution: McGill University
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2413072245