SES & Preterm Birth Statistics
With survival rates and outcomes for preemies continually improving it is still important to identify the issues that come an increased risk of a premature birth.
In general the incidence of premature birth is increasing. Some countries have maintained a rate of premature birth and others have continued to increase. The increase in the rate of premature birth can be attributed to several reasons ranging from IVF use to Socioeconomic status (SES).
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Incidence of Premature Birth by Socioeconomic Status
Where you come from and what you do, can play a significant role in the course of a pregnancy, the type of risk factors you may be exposed to, and the outcomes of an unborn baby. Socioeconomic Status as it is known can give us an insight into who is at risk for delivery of a premature baby.
Some researchers have reported substantial socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of very premature birth, particularly in countries with unequal access to health care, such as the United States, with nearly double the incidence in more deprived women compared with the least deprived. There have been substantial rises in the incidence of very premature birth over the last 10 years, which have been attributed to increases in preterm birth in the lower socioeconomic brackets.
Below are socioeconomic status statistics from around the world. We will continue to add to this list, so if your country is not listed let us know what country you are interested in and we'll do our best to acquire the relevant information.
Premature birth & SES statistics from Australia
In 2005 women who gave birth and were in the least disadvantaged quintile (5th Quintile) were older, less likely to be Indigenous, and less likely to smoke during pregnancy, compared with women in the other quintiles Premature birth and low birth weight were less likely in the least disadvantaged quintile
Note:
1st Quintile = Most disadvantaged
5th Quintile = Least disadvantaged
| Quintile of Socioeconomic disadvantage |
1st Quintile |
2nd Quintile |
3rd Quintile |
4th Quintile |
5th Quintile |
| Premature Births | 8.7% | 8.4% | 8.1% | 8.0% | 7.1% |
| Low Birth Weight | 7.2% | 6.6% | 6.4% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
{Laws, 2007 #307}
Premature birth & SES statistics from the United Kindom
Areas of high deprivation have high rates of neonatal and infant mortality. Women from deprived areas have an increased risk of delivering a baby very premature (< 32 weeks’ gestation)
Note: the table below describes the incidence of very premature birth.
| Quintile of Socioeconomic disadvantage |
1st Quintile |
2nd Quintile |
3rd Quintile |
4th Quintile |
5th Quintile |
| per 1000 births | 18.1 | 16.0 | 13.1 | 11.7 | 9.5 |
{Smith, 2007}
Technical Reference List
Shingairai, A. F., Siobon, D. H., & Godfrey, B. W. (2004). Risk factors for prematurity at Harare Maternity Hospital, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33, 1194-1201.
Leung, T. N., Roach, V. J., & Lau, T. K. (1998). Incidence of preterm delivery in Hong Kong Chinese. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol, 38(2), 138-141.
Morken, N.-H., Kallen, K., Hagberg, H., & Jacobsson, B. (2005). Preterm birth in Sweden 1973-2001: rate, subgroups, and effect of changing patterns in multiple births, maternal age, and smoking. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 84(6), 558-565.
Singh, U., Singh, N., & Shikha, S. (2007). A prospective analysis of etiology and outcome of preterm labor. Thr Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India, 57(1), 48-52.
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One of the greatest minds in history, Albert Einstein was born preterm.
