Did you know that one of the biggest factors in life expectancy is not just how old we get on average, but how many babies die every year! Even though the United States spend more per person on healthcare than any other nation, we still rank 39th in infant mortality. It's shameful.
The percentage of babies that are born prematurely has a lot to do with how many die. A baby born before 37 weeks is considered premature, and faces many health issues, despite all our advances. If a woman receives little or no prenatal care, she is much likelier to give birth too early, and that baby is much likelier to die.
What affects the premature baby rate? Two major factors are a lack of access to healthcare and smoking. If those can be reduced, more babies will be born at term, and more of them will live.
The March of Dimes is hoping to reduce the rate of premature births in the United States to less than ten percent by 2020. It's now more than 12 percent.
Here's more information from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/health/premature-babies/index.html?hpt=he_c2 
