About Prematurity/Birth Defects 

Preterm refers to births occurring before the 37th week of pregnancy. A full term pregnancy is 40 weeks.

A birth defect is an abnormality of structure, function, or metabolism (body chemistry) present at birth that results in physical or mental disability, or is fatal.

Facts and Figures

• The parents of one out of every 28 babies receive the frightening news that their baby has a birth defect.
• Premature birth is the number one cause of infant death in the first month of life.
• In an average week in Minnesota, 128 babies are born preterm.
• Nationally, more than 460,000 babies are born preterm each year.
• Between 1990 and 2000, the rate of infants born preterm in Minnesota increased more than 17 percent.
• The rate of preterm birth in Minnesota is highest for African Americans (12.7 percent), followed by Native Americans (10.4 percent), Asians (9.9 percent), and whites (9.1 percent).
• Half of all premature births happen for unknown reasons.