Abstract
Preterm delivery remains the primary public health challenge in obstetrics. Infants who weigh less than 2500 g account for 11 percent of all births in the United States but for more than 90 percent of all neonatal deaths. Very-low-birth-weight infants, weighing between 500 g and 1500 g, account for approximately 1 percent of all live births but more than 60 percent of all neonatal deaths. Forty percent of the very-low-birth-weight children who survive are burdened with long-term sequelae.The majority of preterm deliveries are spontaneous, caused by premature labor with or without premature rupture of the fetal membranes. About 20 . . .

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: