California Summit on Preterm Birth

Abstract

Preterm birth, associated with substantial individual and societal burdens, is a leading cause of death worldwide in children before five years of age. In 2013, California experienced a preterm birth rate of 8.4%, remarkable for a state with nearly 500,000 births each year and a socioeconomically and culturally diverse population. In March 2015, the California Prematurity Summit brought together forty-four key leaders from across the state, including providers, researchers, public health officials, hospital administrators and community representatives, to identify best practices contributing to California’s low preterm birth rate and to discuss other preventative measures that might be implemented to further reduce the preterm birth rate to 5.5% by 2030 or sooner. Some countries, including Japan, Norway, and Finland, have already achieved that target rate. This paper presents the key findings and recommendations based on the collaborative work of Summit participants.