About 15 million premature babies are born every year — more than 1 in 10 of the world’s births and a bigger problem than previously believed, according to a report by Save the Children, the March of Dimes and the World Health Organization released yesterday.
The startling toll: 1.1 million of these fragile newborns die as a result. About 1 in 8 American births is premature, the report found.