15 million premature babies born worldwide

WASHINGTON -- About 15 million premature babies are born every year, more than 1 in 10 of the world's births and a bigger problem than previously believed, according to the first country-by-country estimates.

The startling toll: 1.1 million of these fragile newborns die as a result, and those who survive can suffer lifelong disabilities.

Most of the world's preemies are born in Africa and Asia, the report released yesterday says.

It's a problem in the United States, too, where half a million babies are born too soon. That's about 1 in 8 U.S. births, a higher rate than in Europe, Canada, Australia or Japan -- and even worse than rates in a number of less developed countries, the report found.

But the starkest difference between rich and poorer countries is survival.

"Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer," said Dr. Joy Lawn of Save the Children, who co-wrote the report with the March of Dimes, the World Health Organization and a coalition of international health experts.

"And it's unrecognized in the countries where you could have a massive effect in reducing these deaths."

Even more lives could be saved by teaching "kangaroo care," in which moms carry their tiny babies nestled skin-to-skin on their bare chests for warmth when there are no incubators.

More disturbing, the report ranks the United States with a worse preterm birthrate than 58 of the 65 countries that best track the problem, including much of Latin America.

-- AP