Although the United States has some of the best medical care in the world, many babies are born prematurely. When babies are born preterm or at low birth weights, they are often sick, and have health problems throughout their lives. Sometimes they even die. Women in the United States have more preterm births on average than women in other developed countries, like England and Australia. Efforts to increase medical care for pregnant women have not lowered rates of preterm delivery.
Hispanic women are particularly at risk.
When Latinas first come to the US from Mexico, or Central and South American countries, they tend to give birth to very healthy babies. This fact is true even though they are often poor and have limited access to medical care. Until the causes are found, this problem cannot be prevented. The purpose of S.H.A.R.E. is identify the causes of preterm and low birth weight births among Latinas in order to help prevent the problem. According to the US Census bureau, more than 29 million Hispanics were living in the US in 1997, and Hispanics are growing at a faster rate than any other US population.