Shots - Health News Blog FDA Approves First Drug To Prevent
Preterm Births The biggest reason why the United States has
higher infant mortality than other developed countries is that
American women are more likely to deliver prematurely – before
37 weeks. And, for unknown reasons, the US rate of preterm
delivery has been going up in recent years. That's why it's a
pretty big deal that the Food and Drug Administration has okayed
a drug, called 17-HP, that experts say could make a dent in the
preemie problem. Not a huge dent, but a significant one. The
March of Dimes calculates that if all the women eligible to get
the newly approved drug actually did, there would be 10,000
fewer preemies a year – out of more than half-a-million born
that way. "Although that may seem like a small percent, it's
really a very extraordinary ability to impact on what is really
a major public health problem," Dr. Alan Fleischman, the March
of Dimes medical director, told Shots. According to the best
research, the drug reduces the ri