Capsule:
Each year nearly one in eight infants in the United States is born preterm. Preterm birth places babies at increased risk for death, health problems including long-term neurological disabilities, and extended time in the hospital.

Abstract:
Each year nearly one in eight infants in the United States is born preterm. Preterm birth places babies at increased risk for death, health problems including long-term neurological disabilities, and extended time in the hospital. It costs the U.S. health care system more than $26 billion per year. An important risk factor for preterm birth is multiplicity, with 11% of twins, 36% of triplets, and 67% of quadruplets and higher born very preterm (less than 32 weeks’ gestation), compared with less than 2% of singletons.

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