Where you come from and what you do can play a significant role in the outcomes of your pregnancy. Socioeconomic Status (SES) as it is known can give us an insight into who is being affected by preterm birth and in what way.

Some researchers have reported substantial socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of very preterm 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 preterm birth over the last 10 years, which have been attributed to increases in preterm birth in the lower socioeconomic brackets.

Below are statistics on socioeconomic status and preterm birth from around the world. This list will continue to grow, so if your country is not listed, please let us know you are interested in seeing them for your country, and we'll do our best to acquire the relevant information. 

Main areas covered in this article:

Preterm 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. Preterm birth and low birth weight were also less likely to have occured in the in the least disadvantaged quintile

Preterm birth - SES statistics from the United Kingdom

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 preterm (< 32 weeks’ gestation)

Note: the table below describes the incidence of very preterm birth in each SES quintile (1st quintile is the most deprived group).