Today’s episode is one that I’ve had in the works for quite a while. A lot of folks have been asking for it so I’m excited to bring you this episode about preterm birth. I will follow up this one with episodes on the two most common causes of preterm birth so stay tuned for those, as well. Preterm birth is relatively common. There are some physical risk factors that you can't do anything about (like your height!) and there are behavioral factors that you are able to change, some more effective than others. Ultimately, there’s not a lot that we can do that will have an impact on whether you have a preterm birth or not but I’ll go over what we can. In this Episode, You’ll Learn About: -What is preterm birth -How common is it -What are some of the risk factors -How does reproductive history impact level of risk -What role do genetic factors play -How does race affect the likelihood of preterm birth -How to reduce risks -What are some possible treatments   Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode163 Check out The Birth Preparation Course Register for the class How to Create a Birth Plan the Right Way Take a quick, fun labor pain quiz