Preterm Birth in the United States A Sociocultural Approach
This first-of-its-kind volume addresses the myriad of issues relating to—and reviews the plethora of responses to--premature births in the United States, both in national context and compared with other countries. In addition to current clinical data, it
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Preterm Birth in the United States A Sociocultural Approach
Preterm Birth in the United States
Janet M. Bronstein
Preterm Birth in the United States A Sociocultural Approach
123
Janet M. Bronstein School of Public Health University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL USA
ISBN 978-3-319-32713-6 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32715-0
ISBN 978-3-319-32715-0
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944406 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
Preface
The United States is an advanced technological society. It has the largest gross domestic product (GDP, the total dollar value of all goods and services produced) of all of the world’s nations. It also has the largest portion of GDP that is devoted to health care, 16.4 %.1 Yet the U.S. infant mortality rate ranks 33rd of the 36 nations included in the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD—European Union, EU applicants and selected other developed countries). This low ranking is not a recent phenomenon—it has been observed for decades, ever since comparative infant mortality rates have been available. The reason for this low ranking is also clear, and has been stable for decades: the United States has a much higher rate of preterm births—infants delivered before their mothers’ pregnancies reach term (at least 37 weeks gestation) than other developed countries. The U.S. actually has a lower mortality rate per preterm birth age than other countries, but this high survival rate is not sufficient to compensate for the larger number of infants born before they reach term. The persistence of high preterm birth rates in the U.S. population has been labeled an enigma by biomedical researchers, an issue of concern by clinicians, an indicator of the need for political and health sector reform by social ad
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