‘Crisis Level’: US Preterm Birth Rates in 2022 Second Highest Since 2012, Report Says

Increased access to contraception and higher female employment have resulted in ‘more chronic conditions during pregnancy,’ said the March of Dimes.

Children and care givers in a park outside the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington on April 12, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The 2022 preterm birth rate in the United States was the second highest in a decade—a “crisis level” state of infant and maternal care, according to the March of Dimes.

“In 2022, over 380,000 babies were born preterm—10.4 percent of all births—earning the U.S. a D+ for the second year in a row,” said the Nov. 16 report by the infant and maternal care nonprofit.