Women from deprived areas more likely to labour too early

Women from deprived areas suffer again according to medical research showing they are more likely to give birth to a premature baby.

Preterm birth is one of the biggest causes of baby death in the UK, with babies born before 33 weeks and from deprived areas at the greatest risk.

Authors Ron Gray from the University of Oxford and Marie McCormick from Harvard School of Public Health believe that the link between between deprivation and risk of preterm birth should be a research priority.

They said:  “It seems highly likely that such work could lead to public health strategies that would reduce the costs not only of neonatal care but also attached to the long term health problems suffered by some of these babies.”

“Further progress on preventing preterm birth in general and reducing socioeconomic inequalities in preterm birth is unlikely to occur without a better understanding of the role of socioeconomic factors.”

The research is published on the BMJ website today.