Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine logoLink to The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine
. 1997 May-Jun;70(3):227–232.

Preventing preterm birth: are we making any progress?

M S Kramer 1
PMCID: PMC2589095  PMID: 9544493

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.

Full text

PDF
227

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alberman E. Are our babies becoming bigger? J R Soc Med. 1991 May;84(5):257–260. doi: 10.1177/014107689108400505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bréart G., Blondel B., Tuppin P., Grandjean H., Kaminski M. Did preterm deliveries continue to decrease in France in the 1980s? Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 1995 Jul;9(3):296–306. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.1995.tb00146.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dollfus C., Patetta M., Siegel E., Cross A. W. Infant mortality: a practical approach to the analysis of the leading causes of death and risk factors. Pediatrics. 1990 Aug;86(2):176–183. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dombrowski M. P., Wolfe H. M., Brans Y. W., Saleh A. A., Sokol R. J. Neonatal morphometry. Relation to obstetric, pediatric, and menstrual estimates of gestational age. Am J Dis Child. 1992 Jul;146(7):852–856. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1992.02160190084027. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fellman J. O., Eriksson A. W. Biometric analysis of the multiple maternities in Finland, 1881-1990, and in Sweden since 1751. Hum Biol. 1993 Jun;65(3):463–479. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Flegal K. M., Harlan W. R., Landis J. R. Secular trends in body mass index and skinfold thickness with socioeconomic factors in young adult women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988 Sep;48(3):535–543. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/48.3.535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Goldenberg R. L., Davis R. O., Cutter G. R., Hoffman H. J., Brumfield C. G., Foster J. M. Prematurity, postdates, and growth retardation: the influence of use of ultrasonography on reported gestational age. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1989 Feb;160(2):462–470. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(89)90473-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Heins H. C., Jr, Nance N. W., McCarthy B. J., Efird C. M. A randomized trial of nurse-midwifery prenatal care to reduce low birth weight. Obstet Gynecol. 1990 Mar;75(3 Pt 1):341–345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Howell E. M., Blondel B. International infant mortality rates: bias from reporting differences. Am J Public Health. 1994 May;84(5):850–852. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.5.850. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Joseph K. S., Kramer M. S. Recent trends in Canadian infant mortality rates: effect of changes in registration of live newborns weighing less than 500 g. CMAJ. 1996 Oct 15;155(8):1047–1052. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Keppel K. G., Taffel S. M. Pregnancy-related weight gain and retention: implications of the 1990 Institute of Medicine guidelines. Am J Public Health. 1993 Aug;83(8):1100–1103. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.8.1100. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kessel S. S., Villar J., Berendes H. W., Nugent R. P. The changing pattern of low birth weight in the United States--1970 to 1980. JAMA. 1984 Apr 20;251(15):1978–1982. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kleinman J. C., Kopstein A. Smoking during pregnancy, 1967-80. Am J Public Health. 1987 Jul;77(7):823–825. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.7.823. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kliegman R. M. Neonatal technology, perinatal survival, social consequences, and the perinatal paradox. Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):909–913. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.7.909. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kotelchuck M. The Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index: its US distribution and association with low birthweight. Am J Public Health. 1994 Sep;84(9):1486–1489. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.9.1486. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kramer M. S. Determinants of low birth weight: methodological assessment and meta-analysis. Bull World Health Organ. 1987;65(5):663–737. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kramer M. S., McLean F. H., Boyd M. E., Usher R. H. The validity of gestational age estimation by menstrual dating in term, preterm, and postterm gestations. JAMA. 1988 Dec 9;260(22):3306–3308. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kyvik K. O., Green A., Beck-Nielsen H. The new Danish Twin Register: establishment and analysis of twinning rates. Int J Epidemiol. 1995 Jun;24(3):589–596. doi: 10.1093/ije/24.3.589. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lee K. S., Paneth N., Gartner L. M., Pearlman M. A., Gruss L. Neonatal mortality: an analysis of the recent improvement in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1980 Jan;70(1):15–21. doi: 10.2105/ajph.70.1.15. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Liu K., Moon M., Sulvetta M., Chawla J. International infant mortality rankings: a look behind the numbers. Health Care Financ Rev. 1992 Summer;13(4):105–118. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Martin J. A., Taffel S. M. Current and future impact of rising multiple birth ratios on low birthweight. Stat Bull Metrop Insur Co. 1995 Apr-Jun;76(2):10–18. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. McCormick M. C. The contribution of low birth weight to infant mortality and childhood morbidity. N Engl J Med. 1985 Jan 10;312(2):82–90. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198501103120204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Meis P. J., Ernest J. M., Moore M. L., Michielutte R., Sharp P. C., Buescher P. A. Regional program for prevention of premature birth in northwestern North Carolina. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1987 Sep;157(3):550–556. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9378(87)80005-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Mueller-Heubach E., Reddick D., Barnett B., Bente R. Preterm birth prevention: evaluation of a prospective controlled randomized trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1989 May;160(5 Pt 1):1172–1178. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(89)90183-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Ng E., Wilkins R. Maternal demographic characteristics and rates of low birth weight in Canada, 1961 to 1990. Health Rep. 1994;6(2):241–252. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Niswander K., Jackson E. C. Physical characteristics of the gravida and their association with birth weight and perinatal death. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1974 Jun 1;119(3):306–313. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(74)90289-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Papiernik E., Bouyer J., Dreyfus J., Collin D., Winisdorffer G., Guegen S., Lecomte M., Lazar P. Prevention of preterm births: a perinatal study in Haguenau, France. Pediatrics. 1985 Aug;76(2):154–158. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Yawn B. P., Yawn R. A. Preterm birth prevention in a rural practice. JAMA. 1989 Jul 14;262(2):230–233. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine are provided here courtesy of Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

RESOURCES