Premature Births Can Be Prevented

Premature Births

In honor of Prematurity Awareness Month, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) is highlighting its commitment to preventing preterm birth (babies born before 37 weeks of completed gestation) and improving birth outcomes throughout Kentucky.

Kentucky has one of the highest rates of preterm birth - the nation's leading cause of neonatal deaths. At 14 percent, the rate of preterm birth in Kentucky is nearly two percentage points higher than the national average and has increased more than 24 percent in the past decade.

"A lot of the baby's development happens in the last four to six weeks of pregnancy, especially brain development," said Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., director of DPH's division of maternal and child health. "Unless medical complications arise, women should try to carry their babies to full term, or about 40 weeks."

Here's a closer look at the impact both in terms of the health of infants and for the cost of health care created by preterm births: