The worldwide incidence of preterm birth: a systematic review of maternal mortality and morbidity
Stacy Beck, Daniel Wojdyla, Lale Say, Ana Pilar Betran, Mario Merialdi, Jennifer Harris Requejo, Craig Rubens, Ramkumar Menon & Paul FA Van Look
Volume 88, Number 1, January 2010, 31-38
Table 3. Preterm birth rates, number of preterm births by United Nations geographical region/subregion and percentage of births covered by the estimates in a systematic review of the worldwide incidence of preterm birth
| Region/subregiona | Preterm births |
Preterm birth rate |
Percent coverage of estimatesc | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. in 1000s | 95% CIb | % | 95% CIb | ||||||
| World total | 12 870 | 12 228–13 511 | 9.6 | 9.1–10.1 | 85.8 | ||||
| More developed countries | 1 014 | 982–1 046 | 7.5 | 7.3–7.8 | |||||
| Less developed countries | 7 685 | 7 109–8 261 | 8.8 | 8.1–9.4 | |||||
| Least developed countries | 4 171 | 3 891–4 452 | 12.5 | 11.7–13.3 | |||||
| Africa | 4 047 | 3 783–4 311 | 11.9 | 11.1–12.6 | 72.7 | ||||
| Eastern | 1 686 | 1 481–1 891 | 14.3 | 12.5–16.0 | |||||
| Middle | 602 | 535–669 | 11.6 | 10.3–12.9 | |||||
| Northern | 407 | 290–523 | 8.7 | 6.2–11.2 | |||||
| Southern | 228 | 191–265 | 17.5 | 14.6–20.3 | |||||
| Western | 1 125 | 1 036–1 215 | 10.1 | 9.3–10.9 | |||||
| Asia | 6 907 | 6 328–7 486 | 9.1 | 8.3–9.8 | 90.9 | ||||
| Eastern | 724 | 650–798 | 3.8 | 3.4–4.1 | |||||
| South-central | 4 467 | 3 944–4 991 | 11.4 | 10.0–12.7 | |||||
| South-eastern | 1 271 | 1 062–1 480 | 11.1 | 9.3–13.0 | |||||
| Western | 396 | 290–501 | 7.9 | 5.8–9.9 | |||||
| Central | 49 | 21–77 | 3.8 | 1.6–5.9 | |||||
| Europe | 466 | 434–498 | 6.2 | 5.8–6.7 | 94.8 | ||||
| LA and the Caribbean | 933 | 858–1 009 | 8.1 | 7.5–8.8 | 79.3 | ||||
| Caribbean | 48 | 33–63 | 6.7 | 4.7–8.8 | |||||
| Central America | 295 | 263–326 | 9.1 | 8.2–10.1 | |||||
| South America | 591 | 524–658 | 7.9 | 7.0–8.8 | |||||
| North Americad | 480 | 479–482 | 10.6 | 10.5–10.6 | 100 | ||||
| Oceania | 91.0 | ||||||||
| Australia/New Zealand | 20 | 20–20 | 6.4 | 6.3–6.6 | |||||
| Rest of Oceania | 16 | 11–20 | 6.4 | 4.6–8.2 | |||||
CI, confidence interval; PI, prediction interval.
a Countries categorized according to United Nations classification.
b Whereas PIs were calculated for country estimates based on the model, CIs were derived for the regional/subregional aggregate estimates that utilized data from studies as well as modelled estimates.
c Refers to the proportion of live births for which data were available and model-based estimates were not generated.
d Excluding Mexico, which is included under Latin America.