Premature or preterm births are defined as live birthsbefore a woman completes thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy.A new study found that about fifteen million babieswere born prematurely around the world in twenty-ten.The study was the first of its kind,and shows that the problem exists in poor countriesas well as in wealthy ones.Researchers gathered information from eighty-four countries.The researchers were from Save the Children,a nongovernmental organization.They found that more than one in ten babies are born too soon.The research team found that fifteen countries-- including the United States and Brazil-- had two-thirds of all preterm births.Sixty percent of preterm births happenin South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.Problems related to premature birthare the second most common cause of deathin children under five, after pneumonia.The study found that these complications of preterm birthresult in more than a million deathsaround the world every year.Babies born early are more likelyto develop learning disabilitiesand problems with their eyesight and hearing.They can also suffer cerebral palsy,a neurological condition, and a lifetime of lung disease.The risk of death in a newborn also increases sharplyif babies are born after less than thirty-two weeks of pregnancy.But eight out of ten premature babies are bornbetween thirty-two and thirty-seven weeks.Joy Lawn of Save the Children in South Africa led the teamthat wrote the report for the World Health Organization.She says with the right medical care and loving attention,these newborns have a good chance of survival.JOY LAWN: "They would survive with really basic care.So, being breastfed, being kept warm.And they are at much higher risk of infection,so treating with antibiotics."She says only five percent of preterm babieswere born at twenty-eight weeks or less.Those that survived birth required intensive hospital care.The research team found that only three countries -- Croatia, Ecuador and Estonia-- had a decrease in their preterm birth ratesbetween nineteen ninety and twenty-ten.JOY LAWN: "Really we can't point to one solutionand say this is what caused it.Just as we couldn't point to something in the U.S.and say this is what caused the very high rates in the U.S."In the United States, twelve percent of all live birthsin twenty-ten were preterm.You can find a link to the full report,along with videos about the problem of premature births,at 51voa.com.This study would have interested Mary Ellen Avery.She was a medical researcher who made a discoverythat helped save the lives of many preemies.Next week, learn about Dr. Averyand her discovery more than fifty years ago.And that's the VOA Special English Health Report.