After a decade of progress, preterm birth rates are once again headed in the wrong direction. From 2013 to 2023, the national rate rose from 9.8 to 10.4 percent, a rise at least partly attributable to increased reporting from rural hospitals and local health departments.
Now, bipartisan support is rallying around the PREEMIE Act. The pending legislation has united policymakers, researchers, health care providers and families around advocating for policies and systems that can reduce the risk of preterm birth.
A Growing Crisis in Infant Health
More than 10% of live births — over a quarter of a million babies — were delivered preterm in 2023, the most recent data available. The rates were highest in the southern and midwestern states, and among mothers without access to advanced prenatal screenings and care.
Recent funding and staffing disruptions impacting a team that monitors infant mortality will present extra challenges for data continuity. Reauthorizing data collection at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services would be another beneficial outcome of passing the PREEMIE Reauthorization.
Many Causes, One Urgent Problem
A wide range of factors contribute to premature birth, including maternal age, access to health insurance, cigarette smoking and the mother’s socioeconomic resources. The burden falls especially hard on Black and Indigenous mothers, who continue to have disproportionately high rates of early births and related complications. Obesity, hypertension and substance use can also put mothers and babies at risk.
Maternal complications like high blood pressure and preeclampsia also contribute to preterm births, and resurgence of flu and RSV after the end of COVID-19 precautions likely contributed to infant mortality. But the evidence supports prenatal interventions, including screening and vaccination during pregnancy, to reduce these risks.
Babies born along with their siblings as twins or triplets as well as those born within 18 months of a previous pregnancy are at higher risk of being born early. The increased use of reproductive technology and in vitro fertilization has raised the rate of multiple births in recent decades.
Access to care and socioeconomic indicators of health like income, education and occupation are complex, interrelated issues, but they are not insurmountable. With the right tools and targeted support, many preterm births can be prevented.
How the PREEMIE Act Can Help
The PREEMIE Act, if renewed, will continue critical federal work that has already made a difference in protecting the nation’s youngest residents. The Act supports research, public education and community interventions designed to reduce the incidence of preterm birth.
By reauthorizing and updating this framework, Congress can help health care providers have access to cutting-edge research and evidence-based strategies to aid expectant mothers with healthy, full-term pregnancies.
Every baby deserves a healthy start, and every mother deserves the care and resources to support her child’s best chance to thrive. The PREEMIE Act provides both. Congress would be wise to act swiftly and pass this reauthorization so more infants have the support they need to thrive.
