Preterm birth

Patent Pending In humans preterm birth (Latin: partus praetemporaneus or partus praematurus) is the birth of a baby of less than 37 weeks gestational age; such a baby is sometimes referred to as a "preemie" or "premmie", depending on local pronunciation. The cause of preterm birth is in many situations elusive and unknown; many factors appear to be associated with the development of preterm birth, making the reduction of preterm birth a challenging proposition.