This first-of-its-kind volume addresses the myriad of issues relating to—and reviews the plethora of responses to--premature births in the United States, both in national context and compared with other countries. In addition to current clinical data, it examines how preterm births in the U.S. fit in with larger social concerns regarding poverty, racial disparities, reproductive rights, gender expectations, and the business of health care. Comparisons with preterm birth phenomena in Canada, the U.K., and other Western European countries illustrate cultural narratives about motherhood, women’s status, differences across social welfare and abortion policies , and across health care financing and delivery ... Read moresytems, and how these may affect outcomes for newborns. The book sorts out these intersecting complexities through the following critical lenses: 

·         Clinical: causes, treatments, and outcomes of preterm birth

·         Cultural: how we understand preterm birth      

·         Health care: delivering care for high-risk pregnant women and preterm infants

·         Ethical: moral decision-making about preterm births