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Peer-reviewed article

What is Behind the Rising Rates of Preterm Birth in the United States?

We review three decades of unsuccessful efforts by public policy-makers in the United States to develop programs to lower the rate of preterm birth. We analyze why these efforts had been unsuccessful. Finally, we will speculate about…

By John D. LantosJanuary 1, 20111 min readin Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal

We review three decades of unsuccessful efforts by public policy-makers in the United States to develop programs to lower the rate of preterm birth. We analyze why these efforts had been unsuccessful. Finally, we will speculate about whether something has changed in the last few years that might finally bend the curve and reverse the trend of a steadily rising preterm birth rate.

Originally published at Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal · January 1, 2011.

About the author

John D. Lantos is a pediatrician and bioethicist writing on AI in medicine, neonatal intensive care, and end-of-life decisions. His essays appear in JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, the Hastings Center Report, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Aeon. Read more about John.

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