A premature birth is a birth that takes place more than three weeks before the baby's estimated due

date. In other words, a premature birth is one that

occurs before the start of the 37th week of pregnancy.

Premature babies, especially those born very early, often have complicated medical problems. Typically, complications of prematurity vary. But the earlier
your baby is born, the higher the risk of complications.

Depending on how early a baby is born, he or she may be:

Late preterm, born between 34 and 36 completed weeks of pregnancy

Moderately preterm, born between 32 and 34 weeks of pregnancy
Very preterm, born at less than 32 weeks of pregnancy
Extremely preterm, born at or before 25 weeks of pregnancy
Most premature births occur in the late preterm stage.

A stillbirth is the death of a baby before or during delivery. Both miscarriage and stillbirth are terms describing pregnancy loss, but they differ according to
when the loss occurs. There is no universally accepted definition of when a fetal death is called a stillbirth, and the meaning of this term varies
internationally. This lack of a consistent definition of stillbirth often makes it difficult to compare data on how frequently it occurs.

In the United States, a miscarriage usually refers to a fetal loss less than 20 weeks after a woman becomes pregnant, and a stillbirth refers to a loss 20 or
more weeks after a woman becomes pregnant.

Stillbirth is further classified as either early, late, or term:

•An early stillbirth is a fetal death occurring between 20 and 27 completed weeks of pregnancy.
•A late stillbirth occurs between 28 and 36 completed pregnancy weeks.
•A term stillbirth occurs between 37 or more completed pregnancy weeks.