Premature deaths
At least one-third of all infant deaths in the U.S. are the direct result of prematurity, double the proportion previously believed, federal researchers report today.
Previous data obtained solely from death certificates had indicated that birth defects were the major cause of death among infants in their first year.
But linking death certificates with birth certificates, which include gestational age, shows that birth before 37 weeks of gestation plays the dominant role, according to the study.
Prematurity is the direct cause of death for half of infants who die in the first month of life and for 95 percent of infants who are delivered before the 32nd week of pregnancy, according to the report in the journal Pediatrics.
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Los Angeles Times