According to a report released recently, about 13 million babies are born premature worldwide every year and over 1 million of them die within the first month of life.

Africa tops the charts with the highest rate of premature births followed by North America, which includes Canada and the United States.

The annual cost of caring for premature babies amounts to $26 billion in a year in the United States alone.

Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes president, said in a news release, "If world leaders are serious about reaching the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, then strategies and funding for reducing death and disability related to preterm birth must receive priority”.

The rate of premature births has risen in the U. S. in the past 25 years due to some important factors. More women above the age of 35 are getting pregnant and there is an increased use of assisted reproductive technologies which leads to multiple births.

Premature babies are also at a higher risk for a range of lifelong health problems like cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss and learning disabilities. There is no sureshot way to prevent preterm birth yet.

The authors of the report have urged that more steps need to be taken to educate health professionals, policy makers, women of childbearing age and everyone else concerned about the rising preterm birth rate. They need to be trained well as to how to care for women with high-risk pregnancies and their babies.

The report will be presented this month at the International Conference on Birth Defects and Disabilities in the Developing World, held in New Delhi, India.