Incidence and risk factors of preterm birth in a rural Bangladeshi cohort

BACKGROUND: Globally, about 15 million neonates are born preterm and about 85% of global preterm birth occurs in Asia and Africa regions. We aimed to estimate the incidence and risk factors for preterm birth in a rural Bangladeshi cohort. METHODS: Between June 2007 and September 2009, community health workers prospectively collected data from 32,126 mother-live-born baby pairs on household socio-demographic status, pregnancy history, antenatal care seeking and newborn gestational age determined by recall of date of last menstrual period. RESULTS: Among all live births, 22.3% were delivered prior to 37 weeks of gestation (i.e. preterm); of which 12.3% were born at 35-36 weeks of gestation (late preterm), 7.1% were born at 32-34 weeks (moderate preterm), and 2.9% were born at…