A Mother's Day Plan to Reduce Preterm Birth

As the United States celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, preterm birth is a frequent and important global health problem that can no longer be neglected. Every day, scores of young children die after they are born too early - and many of those deaths are preventable. Most striking of all, this is truly a global problem, affecting rich and poor countries alike. In the United States, for example, nearly 12 out of every 100 babies born in 2010 were premature, and this rate has increased by 30 percent since 1981.