Perinatal mortality and morbidity in premature birth.

In a study carried out in 100 cases of premature birth in Section "A" of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University of Turin, the authors report a perinatal mortality rate of 5.4%. Perinatal morbidity was found to be very high (68.2%). These findings--which are perfectly in line with those reported in the literature--explain why premature birth is one of the most important topics of research in modern obstetrics.