More babies are being born prematurely in the U.S. according to a report today released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Preliminary data for 2016 show that the U.S. preterm birth rate increased to 9.84%, an increase of 2% from 2015. The driver for this increase is an increase in late preterm births. Oklahoma’s preterm birth rate increased from 10.33% in 2015 to 10.65% in 2016, giving us a rank of 10th highest rate. Our late preterm birth rate increased from 7.57% in 2015 to 7.96 in 2016, ranking us #7. Recommendations remain to avoid scheduling non-medically indicated inductions and cesarean births prior to 39 completed weeks. Also, progesterone guidelines were released last year for women receiving SoonerCare to improve the process for prescribing for eligible women. Please review these guidelines and incorporate into your practice if you have not yet done so. We all need to do our part to reverse this concerning trend. THANK YOU! If you have questions or comments, please contact us at opqic@ouhsc.edu or call 405-271-7777.