Average pregnancy length in the US is shorter than in European countries

Maternal health outcomes continue to worsen in the United States, where maternal and infant mortality rates far exceed rates in European countries and other wealthy nations. Now, a new study led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Harvard Medical School-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is shedding insight on how hospital organizational structures and staffing within US maternity care may affect the birthing process and possibly contribute to adverse birth outcomes.