reserve bank of minneapolis. now house hearing on premature birth and interest mortality. we will hear from witnesses representing the centers for disease control and the institute of national health. this is two and a half hours. cracks today we will be meeting on premature birth and infant mortality. today will be meeting of premature birth an infant mortality. we of looking at the causes and consequences. they need to be examined. this is an important and complicated health issue. much is still unknown. according to the cdc, within half a million babies in the data states are born prematurely. the statistic is up 20% from 1990. we are just starting to see a decline. preterm births remains a pressing health issue which deserves ample attention as it is the raised the specter of infant mortality. it also leads to acute and chronic conditions. researchers are still trying to understand why preterm labor occurs. we know there are a set of factors that put women at high ris