ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization defines birth under 37 weeks of gestational age as premature birth [1]. Every year more than 1 in 10 infants are born preterm, an estimated 15 million preterm births. The number of preterm births has increased over the last 20 years in nearly every country with reliable data. Preterm birth is also a global problem, with the 10 countries with the most preterm births widely distributed around the world, as can be seen in Figure 16.1 [1-4].
