Between 1990 and 2000, rates of preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation) increased more than 9 percent, from 10.6 to 11.6 percent.  The 2000 preterm birth rate of 11.6 percent was over 50 percent higher than the Healthy People 2010 objective of no more than 7.6 percent set by the US Department of Health and Human Services.