According to a review of Missouri birth statistics conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, African-American women are three times more likely to delivery babies prematurely than their Caucasian counterparts.

According to Muglia, director of the Center for Preterm Birth Research at the School of Medicine:

"We found that African-American women experience preterm birth not only at increased rates as compared with Caucasian women but also at earlier gestations and with increased repetition for a woman who has had at least two babies.

We also found that subsequent preterm births to a mother happen at the same week as her original preterm birth. These findings highlight the importance of race, particularly after correction for other risk factors, and suggest a probable genetic component that may underlie the public health problem presented by the racial disparity in preterm birth."

Results of the analysis can be found at the February issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Find more details from the press release.