title: Challenges in defining and classifying the preterm birth syndrome.
abstract: In 2009, the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth Conference charged the authors to propose a new comprehensive, consistent, and uniform classification system for preterm birth. This first article reviews issues related to measurement of gestational age, clinical vs etiologic phenotypes, inclusion vs exclusion of multifetal and stillborn infants, and separation vs combination of pathways to preterm birth. The second article proposes answers to the questions raised here, and the third demonstrates how the proposed system might work in practice.
authors: Departments of Pediatrics and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: Kramer
authors: Aris
authors: A
authors: Papageorghiou
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Culhane
authors: Zulfiqar
authors: Z
authors: Bhutta
authors: Robert L
authors: RL
authors: Goldenberg
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Gravett
authors: Jay D
authors: JD
authors: Iams
authors: Agustin
authors: A
authors: Conde-Agudelo
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Waller
authors: Fernando
authors: F
authors: Barros
authors: Hannah
authors: H
authors: Knight
authors: Jose
authors: J
authors: Villar
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control