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One-third of All Infant Deaths Caused by Prematuriry

According to a recent study conducted by US researchers the major cause of death among infants in their first year is caused by prematurity.

The study found that more than 50 percent of the infants who die in the first month of life in the US are the direct result of prematurity as well as 95 percent of those who are delivered before the 32nd week of pregnancy.

Thus leads to the conclusion that prematurity is the main cause of death in more than one-third of all infants deaths reported in the US until now.

"What this says is that we need to focus a lot more effort on prevention and the study of what leads to prematurity," said Dr Gabriel Escobar, one of the researchers.

"In the United States, the death rate in term babies without congenital anomalies is approaching zero," he added. "If we want to save babies, we have to focus on preemies."

Premature birth is defined medically as childbirth occurring earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation.

About 12 percent of babies in the United States are born prematurely each year. In 2003, more than 490,000 babies in the U.S. were born prematurely. The shorter the term of pregnancy is, the greater the risks of complications.